


The Doctor Came Back

by CeriseHood5050



Series: Ruane [9]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Episode: Farewell Sarah Jane (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN!), Episode: s04e11-12 Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith, Episode: s12e08 The Haunting of Villa Diodati, Episode: s12e09 Ascension of the Cybermen, F/F, Fluff, Post-Episode: Farewell Sarah Jane (Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN!), Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, Ruane, Spoilers for Episode: s04e11-12 Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith, Spoilers for Episode: s12e08 The Haunting of Villa Diodati, Spoilers for Episode: s12e09 Ascension of the Cybermen, Spoilers for Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27624049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeriseHood5050/pseuds/CeriseHood5050
Summary: Rani said to Mr Smith that she thought that the Doctor Came back for his Sarah Jane.Notable word: his.These are the adventures of the Thirteenth Doctor and her best friend, Sarah Jane Smith.
Relationships: Ruby White & Sky Smith, Sarah Jane Smith & Sky Smith, Sarah Jane Smith/Ruby White, Thirteenth Doctor & Ruby White, Thirteenth Doctor & Sarah Jane Smith, Thirteenth Doctor & Sky Smith
Series: Ruane [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1840342
Kudos: 5





	1. Shall we go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this version, The Battle of Bannerman Road doesn't happen, so Sky is still alive.

**Five days before the phone calls…**

Sarah Jane is sitting on the red chaise lounge in the attic, sipping a mug of tea. It is a quiet day, and it feels strange. After living the sort of life she has, a calm day would always feel weird. ‘Mr Smith, are you sure there is no alien activity?’ Sarah Jane places her mug on the coffee table in front of her and leans back.  
‘I am certain, Sarah Jane,’ Mr Smith confirms. ‘If something came up, I would tell you.’ Sarah Jane nods, knowing that she can trust her computer.

Before she can make herself too comfortable, she hears a faint wheezing noise coming from the other corner of the attic. ‘Sarah Jane, escalation of temporal flux.’ Sarah Jane jumps up, ignoring how her heart is warning her to sit back down. When she runs over to the other corner of the attic, a familiar blue police box is standing there. She never thought that she would see it again. The TARDIS may look similar, but how will the Doctor look? The door opens, and a blonde-haired woman pokes her head out.  
‘You okay, Sarah?’ She asks.  
‘Doctor?’ Sarah Jane asks, a little uncertainly. The woman steps out of the TARDIS, revealing her style of clothes. She is wearing a dark blue t-shirt with rainbow stripes, and blue trousers held up by a pair of yellow suspenders. Over that, she is wearing a lilac coat.  
‘How did you know?’  
‘Just guessed,’ Sarah Jane shrugs, and looks into the Doctor’s hazel eyes.  
‘I’ve found some new companions; Ryan, Graham and Yaz. You’ll like them.’  
‘You think?’  
‘Definitely.’ The Doctor stands in front of her best friend for a couple of minutes, thinking, then she breaks into a smile. ‘Shall we go? Out into the stars? One last trip?’  
‘Oh, yes, please,’ Sarah Jane says without a second thought. What does she have to keep her in her attic in Ealing? Luke is already married, Clyde and Rani have moved on, even Sky is at university. But unlike Luke, Sky stayed in London and still lived with her. She would spend more time with her mother than her friends. Maybe she needs to get away for a while, too. ‘Can Sky come with us?’  
‘Of course, she can,’ the Doctor nods. ‘Where is she?’  
‘She goes to the University of West London. Sky would be leaving class by now.’ As Sarah Jane talks, the Doctor runs into the TARDIS and starts fiddling with the controls. Sarah Jane steps inside and stares. Yellow crystal features surround the TARDIS console, and the central column time rotor looks different from when Sarah Jane last stepped into the TARDIS. It used to look like it was made of clear glass, but it now looks like the gold crystals that surround the console. The Doctor is busy there, flicking switches and turning dials.  
‘I’ve got a fix on Sky. Just like you said, she finished class.’ The Doctor turns back to Sarah Jane. ‘Shall we go and get her?’ Sarah Jane nods with a smile on her face. The Doctor begins sorting out the controls on the console, and the crystal in the centre starts moving up and down.

When Sarah Jane steps outside, Sky is walking out of the university building. She has shoulder-length wavy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Even after almost a decade of living on Earth, Sky still asks a lot of questions. Today, she is wearing a purple and white striped t-shirt and a black denim jacket with matching jeans. She glances at her phone, then looks up. When she sees Sarah Jane standing in front of the TARDIS, Sky smiles and walks over. ‘Hi, Mum. What are you doing here?’  
‘The Doctor offered to take us both on a trip if you want to come.’  
‘Yeah, I’d love that.’ Sky’s smile grows even brighter when she steps inside the TARDIS.

‘Wow,’ she breathes as she turns around, admiring the view of the TARDIS interior. ‘It looks more beautiful than I imagined it.’ Sarah Jane watches her daughter, and it reminds her of the first time she stepped into the TARDIS. She imagines that she had the same look of amazement on her face.

‘Sarah, Sky, these are my friends,’ the Doctor says, and the two women notice that there are three more people in the room. One of the men look around the same age as Sarah Jane, but he has grey streaks in his short brown hair. He is wearing a shirt, comfortable trousers and a brown jacket. The young man standing next to him looks around the same age that Sky claims she is. He is wearing a t-shirt and a blue coat. He also has brown trousers and is wearing trainers. The woman standing beside him has part of her hair up in space buns and is wearing a t-shirt and a leather jacket. She is also wearing a pair of blue jeans. ‘Graham, Ryan and Yaz. They’ve been travelling with me for just over a year, a think.’  
‘Almost two years,’ Ryan corrects her.  
‘This is Sarah Jane and her daughter, Sky.’  
‘Have you travelled with the Doc before?’ Graham asks.  
‘Yes, when he was a man.’  
‘What?’ Yaz asks. ‘We thought she was joking.’ Sarah Jane shakes her head.  
‘I saw her regenerate once.’  
‘Seriously?’ Sarah Jane shows them four photographs of different men. One of them has white hair and sparkling blue eyes. He is wearing a velvet jacket and a shirt with frills on it. The second man has brown curly hair and a multi-coloured scarf around his neck. The third also has brown hair, but it sticks up in many directions. He is wearing a brown striped suit, a blue shirt and a brown tie. The last man is wearing a white shirt, but he has a bow tie and a tweed jacket.  
‘These are the Doctors I met.’  
‘They all look so… different,’ Ryan finally says.  
‘Yes, they do,’ Sarah Jane agrees and places the photographs back in her handbag. ‘I keep the photos with me in case I run into one of them again.’ The Doctor gives Sarah Jane a brief smile. ‘Doctor, Sky, there is something I must tell you, in private.’ Ryan, Graham and Yaz head out of the console room to give Sarah Jane some privacy with her friend and daughter.

‘What is it?’ The Doctor asks.  
‘Mum?’ Sky asks.  
‘Over the past few days, I’ve felt like something was wrong. Mr Smith scanned me earlier today, and he found that my heart is giving out.’  
‘What?’ The Doctor asks.  
‘He’s given me a few days to live.’  
‘You know what life is like with me, Sarah.’  
‘Yes, and I’ve decided to take the risk.’ Sarah Jane stares at the Doctor. ‘I thought about declining when you gave me the offer, but I thought I’d rather be with you than stuck in my attic, waiting to see when death will finally greet me.’ Sarah Jane sighs, realising that she spoke harsher than she intended to. ‘Besides, we have a lot to catch up on.’  
‘Yeah,’ the Doctor nods. ‘Sorry for leaving it for over a decade.’  
‘You had more important things to do than sit with me and talk,’ Sarah Jane shrugs. ‘Besides, you are out saving the universe every other day. I understand that you can’t be with me.’  
‘Yes, but I should have done more. I should have put some time aside to spend with you. If I knew this was happening, I would have come sooner.’  
‘Doctor, do not blame yourself for it. It’s not your fault.’  
‘Then why do I feel like it is? I was the one who introduced you to this life—’  
‘—I stowed away,’ Sarah Jane corrected her.  
‘That doesn’t matter! What matters is that I was the one to introduce you to this life, and—’  
‘—And like I said, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’  
The Doctor sighs. When she gets into an argument with Sarah, she knows that neither of them would back down.  
‘If your heart’s failing, then I don’t think you should travel with me.’  
‘Please, Doctor,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘One last time, please.’

The Doctor sighs, then nods. ‘All right, you win.’ Sarah Jane smiles, as does Sky. ‘You can even choose where we go if you like.’  
‘All right,’ Sarah Jane nods, then shakes her head. ‘I’d rather it be somewhere I’m not expecting.’  
‘Okay. What about you, Sky?’  
‘Can we go to the night where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein?’  
‘I don’t see why not,’ the Doctor smiles, and she calls her friends back in. ‘We’re going to the night where Mary Shelley came up with the idea for Frankenstein. Now, we have to lay some rules down. We’ll go to the wardrobe to find some suitable clothes once we land, as they cannot suspect that we are from the future. Right, rule one, no one mentions Frankenstein. Two, don’t snog Lord Bryon. Three, don’t interfere with history unless everyone is going off-track.’ The Doctor’s friends nod as the Doctor sets the coordinates for Villa Diodati.

‘We’ve landed,’ the Doctor says after a few moments. ‘We better go and get changed into clothes that are more suitable for 1816.’

Sky gasps in amazement when she steps into the wardrobe. Each item of clothing is stored in a white closet with other clothes from that time and place. ‘Switzerland 1816,’ the Doctor says. ‘It should be here somewhere.’ Sarah Jane turns to her daughter.  
‘I had the same expression when I first entered. It looked different back then, and it certainly wasn’t as organised as it is now.’  
‘I think it’s as organised like this because I lost my way the first time we used it,’ Graham says. ‘I couldn’t find anything I was looking for. The Doc had to come and find me and promised to sort the situation out.’  
‘It only took a few minutes,’ the Doctor says from further in the room.  
‘More like a few days! Do you have any concept of time?’  
‘Of course, I do! Ah, 1816; here we are.’ The Doctor opens a wardrobe and starts taking clothes out to see what she can find. Then, a dress catches Sky’s eye. She picks it up to have a closer look.

It is a light blue dress with a low neckline and a piece of ribbon sewn underneath the bust. The top part of the sleeves are puffed, but then the fabric falls gently to the wrists. The dress reaches to Sky’s ankles. ‘Is there a bonnet that matches this?’ Sky asks the Doctor. The Doctor takes a look at the dress Sky found.  
‘I’m sure I can find something. Why don’t you try it on?’ Sky heads towards one of the dressing rooms as Sarah Jane starts finding a dress for herself.

It has been a long time since she stepped into the wardrobe. The familiarness of some of the clothes comfort her. As she is sorting through the clothes, trying to find something suitable, she finds a white gown she likes. It has a ruffled neckline that goes up to her chin and long sleeves. Like Sky’s dress, it has a ribbon under the bust, and the dress reaches her ankles. ‘Mum?’ Sky calls. ‘Can you please help me with the laces in the back?’ Sarah Jane hurries over to the dressing room Sky is in and slips inside.

Sky is staring at herself in the mirror, and her eyes are full of wonder. ‘I can’t believe that this is me.’  
‘It’s certainly you, don’t worry about that,’ Sarah Jane assures her as she begins lacing Sky up. ‘That dress suits you.’  
‘Thanks, Mum.’ Sky smiles as Sarah Jane finishes. ‘Have you found anything?’ Sarah Jane shows Sky the dress that she picked out. ‘That will look great on you.’  
‘Thank you, Sky.’ Sky places her twenty-first-century clothes in a neat pile nearby. ‘Call me if you need any help getting laced up.’  
‘I will don’t worry,’ Sarah Jane smiles, and Sky steps out of the dressing room.

As Sarah Jane dresses into her gown, she can feel anticipation and thrill bubbling inside her. It has been a decade since she last travelled in time, even longer than that since she wore any period dress. Stepping into the dress is like stepping back into her old life, the life she lived before the Doctor left her behind on Aberdeen.

Then, Sarah Jane remembers that she needs help with the laces. ‘Sky?’ She asks, and Sky pokes her head around the curtain.  
‘You need help with your laces?’ Sarah Jane nods, and Sky helps her mother finish dressing. ‘The Doctor is locating some finishing touches for our period outfits,’ she explains.

When they step outside, Graham, Ryan and Yaz are waiting for them. Graham and Ryan are wearing matching suits, but Ryan is wearing brown and Graham is wearing grey and black. Yaz is wearing a brown dress with flower patterns and a short blue jacket over it. ‘Right, here we are,’ the Doctor says as she walks through, her hands full of different accessories that she and her friends will need. She passes a brown top hat to Ryan and a black one to Graham. She then gives a white pair of gloves and a matching bonnet to Yaz. While the Doctor is sorting her friends out, Sky finds a blue bonnet on the floor and tries it on.  
‘It works well with the dress,’ Sarah Jane nods as she finds a white one to wear.  
‘We’ll only have to wear these while we’re walking up to the house. We can’t park too close otherwise they will get suspicious. Come on, let’s get a shift on.’

‘It had to be raining,’ Graham moans when he opens the door. ‘Doc, can you do something about the weather?’  
‘Afraid not. History says that the summer of 1816 has awful weather, so I can’t do anything about it.’ The others step outside.  
‘How far are we from Villa Diodati?’ Sky asks.  
‘About half a mile,’ the Doctor says. ‘Come on; it won’t do anyone any good if we stand around here.’ The group of six begin walking towards the villa.


	2. Writing A Ghost Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they arrive at Villa Diodati, strange things begin to occur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the first part of 'The Haunting of Villa Diodati'. I split it into several parts to allow Sarah Jane and Sky to interact with the Doctor's current companions before the start of the finale.

As they walk up to the house, Sarah Jane begins thinking about what she is doing. It might not be a good idea to walk to Villa Diodati in the rain. If something, or someone, jumps out and scares her, it could be the end of her. No, do not think like that. Sky still needs her. Sarah Jane glances over at Sky. ‘Mum, if you can’t do this, we can go back.’  
‘No, Sky. We are going to Villa Diodati together.’ The group stops.

‘We will only be there for an hour at the most,’ the Doctor says. ‘Enough time to soak up the atmosphere and leave.’  
‘Plus drying time,’ Graham adds. ‘If this rain keeps ongoing as it is, we will need it.’  
‘Yes, of course.’ They continue walking again.

Soon, they approach a vast house. Sky lifts her head up to study it more closely. ‘It’s bigger than I imagined it.’  
‘You a big fan of Shelley’s work?’ The Doctor asks Sky.  
‘No, this was the first thing that came into my head. I personally prefer dystopian novels.’  
‘You’re not the only one. Come on, we better knock.’ The Doctor approaches the glass double doors, and her friends gather around her. The Doctor begins knocking, and lightning flashes behind them. Beyond the doors, they can see figures approaching. As the door opens, lightning flashes behind them.

Lord Byron is standing there, and he, Mary Shelley, Dr Polidori, and Claire Clairmont scream in their faces. The Doctor, Graham, Ryan, Yaz, Sarah Jane, and Sky scream back until they collect themselves. ‘Good evening,’ the Doctor says, being the first to calm themselves. ‘This isn’t quite the welcome that I expected, but I had worse. I’m…’ Sarah Jane notices that the Doctor is holding up her psychic paper. Lord Byron remains silent. ‘Oh? Nothing? That’s strange; maybe it doesn’t work when it’s wet.’  
‘We got a little caught in the downpour,’ Sky explains. ‘Our carriage parked too far from the house.’  
‘Can we please come in before we drown to death?’ Ryan asks. ‘Please?’ Lord Byron steps aside and allows them to enter.

‘I can’t believe Mary Shelley screamed in our faces,’ Sky says as they walk down the stairs near the front of the house.  
‘She’s not called Shelley yet,’ the Doctor corrects Sky. ‘She’s currently called Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin.’  
‘Right.’  
‘That’s quality historical experience, that.’  
‘If… you’d be so kind,’ another man says. It’s not Lord Byron or Dr Polidori. No one recognises him. He starts walking in the direction of the room that the others are in.  
‘Blimey!’ Graham says. ‘I wish people don’t do that!’  
‘He almost gave me a heart attack,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘At this rate, I’ll have to tell everyone that my heart is weak and to not sneak up on me.’  
‘Yeah, you and me both.’ They follow the man towards the room and hear giggling on the other side of the door. Sky creases her forehead in confusion.  
‘They’re supposed to be writing, not doing whatever it is they’re doing.’ The man opens the door, and the others find Lord Byron, Claire, and Mary shrieking on the floor. Doctor Polidori is watching on a nearby chair, staring at the group on the floor. The group notices the Doctor, Yaz, Graham, Ryan, Sarah Jane, and Sky.  
‘What would you care to drink?’ Lord Byron asks as he stands up.  
‘We should teach them the dance,’ Mary says. Sarah Jane looks at the others. This is not how the night should be going. What happened to writing ghost stories? Everyone begins partnering up, leaving Sarah Jane and Sky.

Sky is standing against one wall when the music begins. Sarah Jane joins her and sits on a nearby chair. She then notices that her daughter is crying. ‘What’s the matter?’  
‘This isn’t how I expected tonight would go,’ Sky says. ‘I hoped we would get to meet the greatest writers of this time and explore how they created their novels. That was all I wanted, not this!’  
‘I’m sorry, Sky. Shall we go outside?’ Sky nods, and the two women head out, followed by Graham as he makes the excuse of needing to go to the little boy’s room.

‘You okay, Sky?’ Graham asks once they are out of shot of the room.  
‘I didn’t expect this to happen,’ Sky admits.  
‘Do you want to hear a story about my adventures?’ Sarah Jane asks. Sky nods, a small smile appearing on her face.  
‘Do you mind if I listen?’ Graham asks. ‘I know we’re not close, but I would like to know a little more about you.’  
‘Of course,’ Sarah Jane agrees, and they sit on one of the stairs together. ‘What story do you want to hear?’  
‘We got up to the time when you first met the shopkeeper,’ Sky reminds her mother. ‘What happened after that?’

Sarah Jane stops herself for a couple of moments. Sky might look like she’s twenty-one, but she is actually nine years old. Does she want to hear that story? ‘Are you sure you want to listen to this story, Sky? It isn’t a happy one.’  
‘The more you teach me, the better I can defend Earth,’ Sky points out. ‘If you keep something from me, it might hinder that.’  
‘Are you sure that’s what you want to do?’  
‘Luke’s working for UNIT, so I don’t see why I can’t defend Earth too!’  
‘I guess you’re right,’ Sarah Jane sighs. ‘It’s just that this week is the anniversary since it happened, and it feels ironic that Mr Smith gave me a few days to live when it was exactly ten years since we met her.’  
‘Since you met who?’  
‘Since we met Ruby White. She was—is a Qetesh, a soul stealer. We didn’t know until it was almost too late.’ Sarah Jane is blinking back tears, trying to stop herself from crying. ‘We thought Ruby was our friend, how wrong we were.’ Sarah Jane takes her phone out of her handbag and scrolls through her photos until she finds one of Ruby holding Mr White. ‘That’s her,’ she hands the phone to Sky and Graham.  
‘She doesn’t look that scary,’ Graham says, ‘but as travelling with the Doctor proves, looks can be deceiving.’  
‘Exactly,’ Sarah Jane nods, taking the phone back. ‘The device she’s holding in the photograph Clyde, one of my friends, called Mr White.’ Sarah Jane pulls the device out of her handbag. It is a white oval shape with a black oval screen and two oval buttons on either side of the screen. Under the screen are two small lights. The red one is on. ‘He’s turned off now, has been for years. When he turns on, he has a blue screen.’  
‘So, what is Mr White? An artificial intelligence like Mr Smith?’ Sky asks.  
‘No. Mr White is a games console designed for 5-D effects.’ Sarah Jane puts Mr White away again. ‘The Qetesh imprisoned Ruby as her hunger was too strong,’ Sarah Jane closes her eyes, trying to block Ruby’s voice from her mind. The last thing Sarah Jane needs is a memory taunting her existence. ‘She added upgrades to the games device so that her prison would become her ship, allowing her to travel to other worlds and eat the people who lived there.’  
‘Why didn’t you realise she was a Qetesh?’  
‘She was wearing a bio-damper, so my watch couldn’t detect her. She also didn’t look alien. She had her stomach, a separate entity from her, housed in the cellar, where she kept me captive.’  
‘That’s awful!’ Graham exclaims. ‘Whenever the Doctor talked about you, I always imagined that nothing would wear you down. But to hear this, I’m not sure what to think anymore.’  
‘I’m just as human as you, Graham O’Brien.’  
‘Yes, I get that now.’

The trio head back into the room where the others were, to find that only Ryan, Mary, Dr Polidori, and the man are still in there. Everyone else seemed to have moved to another part of the house. ‘Mrs Shelley seems fatigued,’ Dr Polidori says.  
‘I’m only fatigued of waiting to dance,’ Mary corrects him.  
‘You’re the one who looks like death,’ Ryan mumbles. Sky rolls her eyes.  
‘Do you insult my visage, sir?’ Dr Polidori asks.  
‘You might want to stop shooting daggers and take a rest, yeah?’  
‘I beg your pardon?’  
‘I agree with Ryan,’ Sky says. ‘You look a little tired.’  
‘I’m a physician. I’m in rude health.’  
‘Whatever you say, mate,’ Ryan chuckles.

‘Then I say, choose, sir!’ Ryan, Graham, Sarah Jane, and Sky look confused.  
‘Sorry,’ Mary apologises. ‘He does this a lot.’  
‘What is he doing?’ Sky asks.  
‘Isn’t it obvious? He’s challenging your friend to a duel.’  
‘Oh, look, I’m not here to fight anyone,’ Ryan tries to explain.

Sarah Jane zones out of the conversation as her head start filling with images. She can see a boy with brown eyes and dark curly hair. He seems to be wearing a red hoodie and a black jacket. ‘Will we be safe here?’  
‘It’s too good to be true,’ a familiar voice says. Sarah Jane recognises that voice anywhere—that’s Ruby’s voice. ‘Don’t worry, Ethan, I’ll protect you as best as I can.’ Why can’t she see Ruby?

The image fades almost as soon as it appears. Why did Sarah Jane see that?

‘—Hand!’ Ryan says when Sarah Jane pulls herself back into the present. Ryan has a hand wrapped around his neck, and Mary and Graham run over to help him. ‘It’s definitely a hand!’ Ryan sounds like he is choking. Where did that hand come from?  
‘Get it off him!’ Sky cries.  
‘Doctor!’ Sarah Jane yells.  
‘It’s so strong and ferocious!’ Mary gasps. She and Graham pull the hand off Ryan as the Doctor runs into the room. The hand aims towards the Doctor, but she batts it away to Lord Byron’s servant, who is holding a silver tray. He smashes the tray onto the hand, and it disintegrates onto the rug.  
‘Nice shot!’ The Doctor says. The Doctor licks the remains and begins to decipher what she knows about it. ‘Nothing abnormal.’  
‘Could it have been haunted?’ Sky asks.  
‘Unlikely.’  
‘You did say that the house was evil,’ Byron tells the Doctor.  
‘Well, that’s a development,’ Sarah Jane says.  
‘I was getting a vibe!’ The Doctor argues.  
‘I know who brought the evil in,’ Dr Polidori says, and he turns to Lord Byron, as does Mary and Claire. The others turn to face him.  
‘Very well,’ Byron sighs. ‘I may have a… skeleton in my chamber.’  
‘Right,’ the Doctor says. ‘Graham, Sarah Jane, Sky, you three keep an eye on Trigger Happy. You and I need to take a look at your skeleton.’ Sarah Jane sighs as the Doctor, Lord Byron, Yaz, Ryan, Mary and Claire walk out of the room.


	3. Polidori's Sleepwalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polidori starts sleepwalking and reveals to everyone that the house is not as entirely as it seems.

‘This is the last thing I wanted,’ Graham moans.   
‘I quite agree, Mr O’Brien,’ Dr Polidori says. He sits on a chair beside the fire. ‘Your friend, Mrs Doctor—’  
‘Her name is the Doctor, not Mrs Doctor,’ Sarah Jane shoots back. ‘She chose that name for herself a long time ago, at least, that’s what she told me.’  
‘Right. Do you always do as she says?’   
‘A lot of the time,’ Graham admits.   
‘I always went my own way,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘And often got in trouble or got captured.’   
‘Right,’ Dr Polidori nods. ‘Maybe your friend was right. I’ll try and rest for a little while.’ Dr Polidori relaxes, and Sarah Jane, Graham and Sky move to another part of the room.

‘What happened when you realised Ruby was a Qetesh?’ Sky asks.   
‘There is something else I also need to tell you. My relationship with Ruby was complicated at best. At one point, she said she loved me, and we went on a date. It was nice to be able to have something that Luke, Clyde and Rani wouldn’t interfere with as they knew that we were friends. Honestly, now I think about it, she probably only loved me as food rather than as a person. The second time I thought I found love and she ruined it!’ There are tears in Sarah Jane’s eyes. She wipes them away. ‘I already told you that she held me captive in the cellar, but she chained me to the wall opposite the fireplace where she kept her stomach. Every time I opened my eyes, I had to stare at it.’ Sarah Jane places her head in her hands. ‘And today I started having a vision of her and this boy, Ethan. I don’t know what it means, but it worries me.’   
‘Maybe we should tell the Doctor about this,’ Graham says.   
‘No! I don’t want to worry her, Graham. If something is wrong here, then she needs to focus on the here and now. I’ll talk to her later.’ The trio looks back to Polidori, who stands up.

‘You are going nowhere, pal,’ Graham says. Polidori starts walking and doesn’t respond when the others try to get his attention.   
‘He must be sleepwalking,’ Sarah Jane considers. Then, Polidori walks through a wall next to the door.   
‘Did he just…?’ Sky asks.   
‘I think so,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘But we know Polidori isn’t dead; he is as alive as the rest of us. So, how can he walk through walls?’ Sarah Jane places her hand where Dr Polidori walked through, and her hand goes through it. ‘Sky, try that door next to me.’ Sky nods and walks through the door next to her mother. She then returns, facing the way she would as if she entered the room.   
‘What?’   
‘Let’s try going through the wall,’ Sarah Jane considers. ‘We know it should go through to the other room.’

‘Is anyone else trapped?’ They hear the Doctor asks.   
‘Doctor?’ Sarah Jane asks. ‘How can we hear you?’   
‘I’m using the fireplaces.’ The candles and fire in the fireplace blow out.   
‘We’re the same!’ Ryan yells. ‘We’re stuck on the stairs.’  
‘Please!’ Mary cries. ‘How do we move up? I must check on William!’  
‘Working on it! Head’s a little fuzzy.’   
‘Polidori’s gone,’ Sky says.   
‘You three had one job!’   
‘That job became difficult when he started walking through the walls!’   
‘Sorry, through?’   
‘Yes,’ Sarah Jane confirms. ‘We think he started sleepwalking, but we’re not sure.’   
‘Right, have you found out anything else?’  
‘No,’ Graham replies. ‘Nothing of use for this moment in time.’   
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’   
‘Er…’ Graham looks over to Sarah Jane, who shakes her head. Now is not a good time to tell the Doctor what is going on.

‘We’re in a perception filter,’ the Doctor yells. ‘Close your eyes, clear your mind. We’re only experiencing what it wants us to.’ Sarah Jane can feel her mind zoning out again.   
‘Maybe Yedlarmi’s right,’ she can hear Ruby say. ‘I’m an outcast of my species, why should I have thought that you would accept me?’   
‘Ruby, please,’ Sarah Jane looks at the man talking to Ruby. She still can’t see Ruby, what’s going on with that? The man has dark skin and is wearing a black coat with the hood pulled over his head and what looks like a trench coat over it. ‘Do not listen to him. You are the one patching up the Gravraft. If it weren’t for you, we’d all be dead, including Ethan.’ Ruby stops walking and turns to stare at the man. ‘We know that you care for Ethan.’   
‘It’s only because he lost his parents. If they were still here, he wouldn’t need me as a role model.’  
‘But Ethan looks up to you.’   
‘He shouldn’t. He doesn’t know about some of the crimes I committed in my past, and they should stay there.’   
‘I’m not saying that you must tell him everything,’ the man steps in front of Ruby when she tries to walk away. ‘Please, come back to the settlement.’   
‘Feekat, get out of my way.’ Feekat continues to move to stand in front of Ruby whenever she tries to move.   
‘Please, for Ethan. Please.’   
‘Fine,’ Ruby growls. ‘But if Yedlarmi says something like that again, I’m leaving.’   
‘And where will you go?’   
‘My vortex manipulator has enough charge.’

The image fades, and Sarah Jane finds herself back in the room with Graham and Sky. ‘Mum, are you okay?’   
‘I—’ Sarah Jane moves over to a chair and sits down. ‘I saw Ruby again, but she was abandoning a group of people.’   
‘But why?’ Graham asks. ‘Did she say why?’   
‘Something that Yedlarmi said, I think.’   
‘Could she be putting these in your head to scare you?’   
‘Maybe,’ Sarah Jane considers. ‘Anyway, we better find the Doctor.’ She pushes herself up from the chair as the Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Dr Polidori, Lord Byron, Mary and Claire return with a skull and a hand.

The others begin discussing theories as Sarah Jane looks out of the window, out over the lake. That is the second vision she’s had that night, and more are sure to follow. But when? Why are they occurring? They both started during conversations, and Ruby is at the heart of it. She can hear Ruby’s voice, so it must be her causing the visions. But why now and not years ago? The Doctor stands beside Sarah Jane as she talks about her theory. Maybe Sarah Jane should focus on what is going on.

‘What if something came through that shouldn’t have done?’ Sky asks. ‘It could explain why the weather is berserk.’   
‘But what could’ve come through?’ Yaz asks as Sarah Jane looks out of the window. She stares at the lake when the lightning flashes and sees a figure hovering over the lake. It has a blue light surrounding it, so she cannot make it out so easily.   
‘Something like that?’ Sarah Jane asks, pointing towards the lake. The others crowd around her to have a look.   
‘Yes, that looks like the sort of thing,’ the Doctor nods. ‘But what is it? I can’t work it out from here.’   
‘It looks humanoid.’   
‘That’s Shelley’s vision,’ Mary says. ‘But we’re all having it?’   
‘No, I think it’s a traveller pushing through. But why 1816? Why here?’

The group then hear a crash and turn. The figure is standing in the hallway, hunched over. ‘What is that?’ Sky asks, and they start moving closer to the open door. It stands up straight and turns to them. Sarah Jane covers her mouth with her hand in horror.


	4. The Lone Cyberman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lone Cyberman arrives at Villa Diodati, and Sarah Jane realises that her visions aren't quite as she first thought.

The figure turns to them, and the group can see its metallic body. A blue, circular light is shining from within its chest. Sarah Jane pushes Sky behind her. Sarah Jane can see an arm that doesn’t look like it is made from metal. That one seems more like it is wearing a sleeve than it being part of its armour. ‘Are you the guardian?’ It asks in a robotic voice.   
‘That is a lone Cyberman,’ the Doctor breathes. She runs over to the door and slams it shut in the Cyberman’s face. She locks the door using her sonic, and everyone begins to help barricade that door.   
‘Jack’s warning!’ Yaz screams. ‘Beware the lone Cyberman! Don’t let it have what it wants!’   
‘At all costs,’ Graham adds.   
‘Yes, thank you, help me with this!’ The Doctor yells.   
‘What is a Cyberman?’ Sky asks.   
‘They are modified humans,’ Sarah Jane tells her. ‘They have their organs and flesh surgically removed with mechanical parts without their consent.’   
‘It drives them insane,’ the Doctor agrees. ‘So, they must alter the brain and shut off all emotions. Whatever he came for must be here.’   
‘That would explain the security,’ Graham says. ‘But I don’t think it would explain Sarah Jane’s visions.’ Sarah Jane groans.   
‘I told you I didn’t want the Doctor knowing yet. There is so much going on that she needs to concentrate.’   
‘Yes, but your mental health is critical.’

‘When did these visions start?’ The Doctor asks Sarah Jane.   
‘Soon after we arrived at Villa Diodati.’   
‘Is there anything connecting the visions?’   
‘There is a person I met before, Ruby White.’ The Doctor guides Sarah Jane to a seat and sits her down.   
‘What happened?’   
‘In the visions or in real life?’   
‘Both.’  
‘Right,’ Sarah Jane nods. ‘But not here. We need to focus on the Cyberman first.’   
‘Very well. If you get another vision, alert someone.’ Sarah Jane nods.

‘But what is hidden here?’ Ryan asks.   
‘I have no idea,’ the Doctor says. ‘But I’m going to find out and stop the Cyberman from getting it.’ The Doctor walks over to the other door and slowly opens it.   
‘Where are you going?’ Sky asks.   
‘I need to find the Cyberman and face him alone.’   
‘Take us with you,’ Yaz asks. ‘All of us against one, we’ll—’  
‘It always starts with one,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Humans changed into empty, soulless shells.’  
‘No feeling, no control, no way back. I’ll never lose anyone to that again!’ The Doctor yells. ‘Don’t follow me!’ She slams the door behind her and walks away.

As the others begin arguing about what to do, Sarah Jane feels her thoughts wandering again. Another vision must be coming on.

This time, she can see Ruby. She looks exactly the same as she did ten years ago. Her hair is tied up, away from her face, and she is wearing a black jacket zipped up to hide most of her red blouse. On her wrist is the same bracelet that she was wearing all those years ago. She is sitting on a fallen tree, one of her hands resting on the bark. The other is on her stomach; a tiny version of its former self. Ruby sighs in exhaustion. ‘Come on, come on.’   
‘What are you waiting for?’ Sarah Jane asks. There is no way Ruby will respond to her. It is all happening in her head.   
‘It’s more of a who,’ Ruby says, and makes eye contact with Sarah Jane. Her brown eyes stare into Sarah Jane’s green ones as Ruby stands up. ‘I guess you’re wondering why I brought you here.’   
‘Where is here?’   
‘That over there,’ Ruby points to a cluster of different buildings, some of them ruined, others not. ‘That is the last human settlement this side of the universe. I try and help them, but some don’t want it.’   
‘Like Yedlarmi?’   
‘Exactly,’ Ruby nods.   
‘So, why are you here? I’m sure it’s not just to help.’ Sarah Jane folds her arms.   
‘I’m trying to earn your forgiveness.’ Sarah Jane stares at Ruby in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly, her eyes widening. ‘I know, it sounds silly, I know. I could never get you out of my head, and I wanted to apologise to you, show you I changed.’   
‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you.’   
‘You want more proof that I changed? Fine. Those six remaining humans in the settlement, they only got here because I could fix the Gravraft. Yedlarmi might have scavenged it, but I patched it up. Without my help, they wouldn’t be here.’   
‘And Ethan?’   
‘I tried to save his parents from the Cybermen. We travelled together such a long way and joined with the group just before they found the Gravraft.’

‘Are you telling the truth?’   
‘I have no reason to lie to you!’ A breeze ruffles Ruby’s hair a little. ‘I—I don’t know what else I can say to get you to believe me.’   
‘You showed me those moments. Surely you can show me what happened back then?’   
‘It’s not as simple as that. What I was showing you was what I was going through at that time. I don’t know how to show the past!’   
‘Then I can’t believe you.’   
‘I can understand that.’ Ruby turns to stare back at the human settlement, and Sarah Jane realises that Ruby is crying. ‘Only Ethan and Feekat wanted my help. The other humans scorned me, and now you…’ Ruby sniffs. ‘I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, so I don’t even know why I’m trying. I should have killed myself when I had the chance.’   
‘Don’t say that!’ Sarah Jane grabs Ruby’s hand, and gasps when she actually touches it. ‘Wait…’   
‘In your mind, I am real. That’s why you can feel me.’   
‘That makes sense.’ Sarah Jane doesn’t move. ‘Ruby Ann White, you are better than this, you proved it to the other humans. You can also prove it to me. Keep showing me what you are doing, I’ll judge from that.’   
‘It’ll mostly be me fixing the Gravraft.’   
‘I still want to see it. Prove to me that you are helping the humans.’   
‘Very well, if you want that.’   
‘But we’re fighting a Cyberman as well. It might be useful if I keep myself there for now.’

‘Mum?’ Sky asks as Sarah Jane’s mind shifts back to 1816. ‘We’re heading to the coal cellar. You coming?’   
‘Yes, I’ll be there,’ Sarah Jane promises as she wipes the tears from her eyes. ‘Give me a minute.’   
‘I’ll wait outside.’ Sky slips out of the room to give Sarah Jane some privacy.

‘Did you mean what you said?’ Sarah Jane whispers to the empty room. She leaves the room and closes the door behind her.


	5. Percy Shelley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane, Graham and Sky find Percy Shelley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the last part of 'The Haunting of Villa Diodati'. Thank you so much for the kudos, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

‘Shall we give the cellar a miss?’ Graham asks.   
‘No,’ Claire says. ‘The coal hatch could be a means of escape; we should try everything.’   
‘Is it too late to choose another group?’ Dr Polidori asks. The wind whistles as the group of five descend the stairs into the darkness.

‘The coal hatch has gone,’ Polidori whispers after a few minutes.   
‘Which must mean that the house is still shifting,’ Sky says. ‘We could be close to what the Cyberman is looking for.’   
‘Then we need to remain on guard,’ Sarah Jane reminds them. Claire heads further into the cellar, and her candle blows out. ‘Claire, are you all right?’   
‘There’s something down here with us,’ Claire says with a shaking voice. The others join her in the cellar. ‘Something crept in front of me!’   
‘Could it have been Shelley?’ Sky asks. ‘He was missing earlier.’   
‘But why would Shelley come down here unless he was hiding something?’ Graham asks.   
‘I’m going to have a look,’ Sarah Jane says. She walks through a doorway, and Graham joins her, holding the candle in front of them. When they look around the corner, they find a man sitting on the floor, breathing heavily.

‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘I tried to hide it. I have to keep him out.’  
‘Who are you?’ Sky asks.   
‘I am the Guardian of the Cyberium. I am Percy Bysshe Shelley.’  
‘We better head upstairs and let the others know we found him,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘One of us will stay down here.’  
‘I’ll stay,’ Graham says.   
‘Do you want me to stay as well?’   
‘If you don’t mind.’

Sarah Jane and Graham stay in the cellar while Sky, Dr Polidori and Claire climb the stairs to talk to the others. Soon, the Doctor returns with Ryan, Yaz and Sky. The Doctor scans Shelley. ‘He was cloaked, too big to register. That’s why my readings were off with the sonic. It would explain a lot of things.’   
‘But what about the house?’ Sky asks. ‘Who or what manipulated the house?’  
‘I did,’ Percy admits, looking up at Sky in fear. He is still sitting on the floor.   
‘It’s something called a Cyberium,’ the Doctor says, crouching down, so she’s at the same level as Percy.   
‘I’m trying to protect it.’ A flash of white light forces them to close their eyes, and the outline of the Cyberman starts to come through. He arrives in the room, and the Doctor gasps. ‘Begone, invader!’ Shelley closes his eyes, and the Cyberman vanishes.   
‘Who moved him?’ Sarah Jane asks.   
‘I did. I also changed some of the house, but not all. It has its own room.’   
‘The room with writing all over the walls?’ Yaz asks, and Percy nods.   
‘I kept writing the same thing in my mind over and over again, hoping to cast it out.’  
‘Mary!’ The Doctor cries, and they turn to find that Mary Shelley has entered the cellar.   
‘I cannot hide, not while he suffers,’ she says, and sits beside her husband-to-be. The Doctor crouches down again.   
‘Show me what happened, please,’ the Doctor raises a hand to Percy’s temple. ‘I need to understand what happened.’

‘I was out, walking alone. As I passed the lake, I saw a silver glimmer in the water. It looked alive, and so I fished it out to study it more closely, but it took root within me.’ The Doctor removes her hand from Shelley’s temple. ‘When I returned, I realised that no one could see me. Since the quicksilver took root within me, I saw symbols and numbers, which were the writings in my room.’  
‘Percy Shelley has cyber technology within him. The knowledge fo all the cyber race and AI from the future, containing the knowledge and future history of all Cybermen. The Cyberium is burning through his mind. It’ll destroy him if it stays in him much longer.’

‘If it knows about what happened to the Cybermen in the future, then why is it here?’ Yaz asks.   
‘Maybe someone took it from them and sent it back in time,’ Sky suggests. ‘If I were in that situation, I would do it.’ The Cyberman appears in the cellar again, a hand reaching out towards Percy Shelley.   
‘I can’t keep him away much longer,’ Percy says through the tears.   
‘Then don’t,’ the Doctor says.   
‘What?’ Sarah Jane asks. ‘No, Doctor, if you let the Cyberman down here—’  
‘Stop fighting. It’s okay.’   
‘Jack’s warning,’ Yaz yells back.   
‘Jack’s not here now!’   
‘Exactly, you didn’t want us near it a minute ago,’ Sky says. ‘Make your mind up!’   
‘I’ve just been inside his brain. There’s a super-computer fused to the cerebral cortex. That Cyberman is the only one who knows how to get it out!’   
‘Don’t let the Cyberman have what it wants,’ Yaz says, repeating Jack’s warning.   
‘I know, because armies will rise, and billions will die.’  
‘Shelley’ll die if that stays in him,’ Sky points out.  
‘Shelley’s only one life against all those others,’ Ryan says.

‘Do you want to take that risk?’ Sarah Jane asks. ‘If Shelley dies now, then the universe we were all born in may never exist. We may never exist!’   
‘Sarah Jane’s right. Do you want to sacrifice yourself for this? Do you want to call it? Do it now.’ No one else responds. ‘Exactly. You can’t say that this is a flat team structure anymore. Sometimes, even I can’t win. I have to choose between the lesser of the two evils. Risk my friends and condemn the poet, or save the history but endanger the future.’  
‘Please, help me,’ Shelley says. The Cyberman reappears in a white light. This time, when it fades, the Cyberman is still in the cellar. He storms over to Shelley and aims his blaster at him.

‘Release what you hold.’  
‘How?’ Shelley asks.   
‘Release it!’  
‘He doesn’t know what that means,’ Graham yells. ‘You’ve got to tell him what to do!’   
‘I’m addressing the Cyberium. It must execute the host to be extracted.’  
‘It isn’t obeying you,’ Sarah Jane says.   
‘Then, I shall execute the host.’ Mary stands in between the Cyberman and Percy before the Cyberman can fire.

‘What is your name, sir?’   
‘Mary now is not the time to talk!’ Sky says.   
‘Or names. Are you several men? A composite of parts.’  
‘I am better than men!’  
‘But I still see a soul in there.’

A soul? Could that—no, Sarah Jane stops herself from progressing in that thought. Why would Ruby want to help them? And more to the point, would she want to go to 1816? Even if Sarah Jane could let her know what was going on, Sarah Jane probably wouldn’t. She has no way of knowing that Ruby is different. If she let a Qetesh loose in 1816, it could cause all sorts of trouble.

‘I see the man who spared my son. Were you a father, before?’  
‘I was,’ the Cyberman agrees, and hangs his head. This Cyberman can feel emotions, that could be more dangerous than a normal Cyberman.  
‘You didn’t want to be this way. They hurt you, this modern Prometheus. You were loved once, and you loved in return. You do not want to kill.’ Mary holds her hand out for the Cyberman to take.

‘My name was Ashad.’ He seems tempted to take it and raises his hand. Has Mary connected with him? ‘I did spare your son…’ Ashad’s hand moves away from Mary’s, and he grabs her arm. Mary gasps in shock. ‘Because he was a useless runt, sickly and weak. And I did have children. I slit their throats when they joined the resistance!’ Mary screams as the Cyberman throws her in Graham’s direction. Graham catches her and stops her from colliding into the wall. ‘We are transformed in death, improved, updated, as you will learn!’   
‘Transformed in death,’ the Doctor realises. ‘I’m so sorry, Percy Shelley.’ The Doctor reaches a hand out and places it on Shelley’s temple again. When she removes her hand, the Cyberium emerges from him. It is a misshaped silver object, and it hovers in the air. The room changes and they find themselves in the library.   
‘What just happened?’ Sky asks. ‘How are we back here?’   
‘He reset the house. Shelley needs help! I must have freed him from the Cyberium.’ Sarah Jane realises that the Cyberman is reaching out for the Cyberium, and she reaches an outstretched hand for it. ‘Sarah, no!’ The Doctor yells, and also raises her hand. The Cyberium hovers between the three of them before it absorbs itself into the Doctor’s body. ‘Interesting, it chose me.’   
‘Surrender it, or I will execute it.’  
‘I’d be careful with the execution threats if I were you,’ Sarah Jane says. The Cyberman raises his hand to the window, and lightning flashes. ‘What are you doing?’   
‘Transmitting. My ship will lock on to my signal and tear this world apart.’   
‘The world didn’t end in 1816,’ Sky yells. ‘You need to stop this!’   
‘He’s bluffing,’ Yaz says. ‘Don’t listen to him, Doctor!’   
‘I can’t risk this planet, not at any cost!’ The Doctor releases the Cyberium, and the storm temporarily stops.

The Cyberman raises his hand and accepts the Cyberium. He disappears in a flash of white light, and the storm stops. The clouds part to reveal bright sunlight. Everyone gasps as the bright sunlight enters the room, and Shelley wakes up. ‘What did you do to Shelley?’ Mary asks.   
‘I pushed his mind to his future death, hoped his body would survive the trauma. I’m so sorry.’  
‘You saved Shelley, but what about the future?’ Sarah Jane asks.   
‘I put it in the gravest danger ever.’  
‘Was that part of the plan?’  
‘Yes, a last-minute, all-I’ve-got plan. Saving Shelley was step one.’   
‘So, what’s step two?’ Sky asks.

Sarah Jane can feel her concentration slipping. ‘Our meeting is inevitable now,’ she can hear Ruby say before Sarah Jane returns to the present.  
‘Shelley, can you give Yaz those symbols and numbers? We’re gonna need them.’ When they have the coordinates, Sarah Jane and Sky start walking back to the TARDIS. The others agreed to catch them up.

‘Is everything all right, Mum?’ Sky asks.   
‘Ruby said that we would meet again,’ Sarah Jane admits. ‘Our meeting is inevitable.’   
‘So, where is she?’   
‘I think she’s in the future.’ They reach the TARDIS and wait outside for the others. The woods are bright and colourful, unlike the evening when they arrived.  
‘Let’s go inside,’ the Doctor says. ‘We need to talk.’

When they enter the TARDIS, the Doctor turns to them. ‘You don’t need to come with me. Cyberwar zones and people don’t mix. I’ll drop you all back in 2020.’  
‘Not going to happen,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘I’m staying with you. Besides, I have my own reason for staying with you.’  
‘If this is about your heart—’  
‘It isn’t. Remember how Graham says I’ve been having visions?’ The Doctor nods. ‘I think it’s linked to the future.’  
‘How? How is it linked?’  
‘It’s linked by someone I met ten years ago.’  
‘How? They shouldn’t be alive in the future if they’re human.’   
‘She isn’t human.’

‘There is something I kept quiet for a long time, and I need you all to listen,’ the Doctor says. Her friends nod. ‘In 2010, soon after my fake funeral, I ran into a Qetesh. They’re known as soul stealers. This particular Qetesh, Ruby White, was going to Earth. She had admired the planet and fell in love with one of the humans there. She wanted my help so she could learn to control her hunger, so she doesn’t accidentally try and kill them. Time Lords and Qetesh used to be close, even more so when the Time War started. Now, as I’m the last—second—last—Time Lord, she wanted my help. Time Lords could easily monitor a Qetesh’s hunger and make sure that they don’t go off the rails.’   
‘And?’ Sarah Jane prompts. Could this have a link to what happened to her all those years ago?   
‘I told her no. I said that I didn’t care if she killed one human, as long as it remained at one. At that point, she was to leave Earth and never return. One human in exchange for billions of lives saved. That’s worth it, right?’

‘Oh my God,’ Graham breathes, putting his head in his hands. Sarah Jane stares at her best friend—should she even call the Doctor her best friend now?—stunned. ‘You told Ruby that you didn’t care who she killed as long as it remained at one person?’   
‘One life lost is better than a whole world. Ruby was already out of control. I could have helped her, but my help was needed elsewhere. It always is.’   
‘And do you know what happened afterwards?’   
‘No idea, Ruby never tried to contact me again.’  
‘Did you specify who she could or could not kill?’   
‘No. I was angry; I wasn’t thinking straight.’

‘Maybe if you were thinking straight, she might not have tried to kill me!’ Sarah Jane yells.   
‘She tried to kill you?’ The Doctor stares at Sarah Jane in horror. ‘I’m so sorry.’   
‘You could have stopped that from happening!’   
‘I had no idea; I’m so sor—’  
‘I don’t want to hear it. Use the coordinates to go and save the future. I’m coming with you to make sure that you do that.’   
‘So are we,’ Graham says. Sky, Ryan and Yaz nod. ‘We’re going to make sure that you’re not messing any of us around.’  
‘Fine,’ the Doctor sighs, pulling a lever. ‘But don’t say that I didn’t warn you.’


	6. The Equipment Needed to Stop the Cybermen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group prepare to face off against Cybermen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two chapters in one day! I doubt this will happen again anytime soon. I hope you enjoy reading it.

‘We need to get the equipment we can use to stop the Cybermen,’ the Doctor says. ‘I always carry some with me just in case something comes up.’  
‘I’m not surprised by this point,’ Sky grumbles.  
‘They’re in the storage room, come on!’ The Doctor takes off and runs up the stairs, out of the control room, Yaz and Ryan on her heels.

‘I have no idea how they can keep up with her,’ Graham says.  
‘I’m not going to even try,’ Sarah Jane replies. ‘With how my heart is right now, I don’t think it’s worth it.’  
‘But then surely you shouldn’t be walking into the middle of a Cyber warzone?’  
‘Graham, I’m doing what I want right now. I want to make sure that the people in the future are safe, and if I die in the process, then so be it.’  
‘Mum, please don’t say that,’ Sky says, and places a hand on Sarah Jane’s shoulder. Yaz appears in the doorway again.  
‘You three coming?’  
‘I will just give you a moment.’ Graham follows Yaz to the storage room.

‘Shall we go and change?’ Sarah Jane asks. Sky nods and they head back to the wardrobe. Instead of changing into the clothes they wore when they arrived, the two of them changed into something different. Sarah Jane is wearing a red blouse and a black waistcoat, as well as dark blue jeans, her usual jacket and a pair of knee-length boots. When Sky walks out of the dressing room next to her, Sarah Jane realises that Sky is wearing a white dress that is similar to the one she wore when Sarah Jane first found her. She is also wearing a denim jacket and a pair of black tights and black trainers. They head back to the console room since they don’t know where the storage room is.

‘I explored the TARDIS with the Doctor once,’ Sarah Jane tells Sky. ‘It’s changed so much since then.’  
‘When you said to the Doctor that you didn’t want to listen to her apology—’  
‘She could have saved me, Sky. She had that chance to help Ruby, and she didn’t.’ Sarah Jane places her head in her hands. ‘Sky, you shouldn’t see me like this.’  
‘Mum, you need support as well. You supported us when we were children, now let me support you.’

‘Oh, I see you’re both here,’ the Doctor says as she and her friends return to the console room carrying a lot of different objects. ‘Sarah, do you still have your sonic?’ Sarah Jane checks her handbag.  
‘Yes. I never leave home without it now.’  
‘Good, good. We’re going to need it.’  
‘I have electrical powers if you need me to use it.’  
‘Sky, I will not let you put yourself on the front line,’ Sarah Jane says.  
‘But I want to help!’  
‘I know, but is there something less dangerous you can do?’  
‘I’m sure we can find something. Right, you need to learn how to use these.’ The Doctor and her friends start sorting through the equipment they brought with them. ‘What Graham is holding is a neural inhibitor system. Cybermen are part human, part machine. But they suppressed their emotions, and this machine is meant to undo that. If Cybermen have feelings, it will send them mad. What Yaz has is a particle Projector. Cybermen are allergic to gold, so this will hopefully stop them in their tracks. Ryan has a forcefield. If you two can help us in any way, then we will appreciate it.’ Sarah Jane and Sky nod.

The Doctor returns to the console. ‘Right, need to make sure I have the coordinates right.’ She puts them into the TARDIS, and it takes off. ‘This should be it,’ she says when they land.

The group finds themselves in the middle of a wasteland. There is the odd tree, so at least there is oxygen in the atmosphere. ‘We ready?’ The Doctor asks, turning back to her friends. ‘This is the last chance you have to back out.’  
‘We’re not going home,’ Yaz says. ‘We already told you that.’  
‘I know, I’m just giving you the option. If you are unsure, go back into the TARDIS and lock the doors. The Cybermen won’t be able to get in.’ No one moves. ‘You all sure?’  
‘Absolutely,’ Ryan agrees.  
‘We’re not leaving you here,’ Graham agrees.  
‘All right, let’s get a shift on.’ The Doctor turns back, and they start walking, carrying the equipment behind them.


	7. The Human Settlement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor, Ryan, Graham, Yaz, Sarah Jane and Sky arrive at the human settlement.

'Half a mile out,' the Doctor says when they see the human settlement. 'The exact coordinates Shelley gave us are down there.' Ryan, Graham, and Yaz are carrying the equipment. Sky is helping Graham, and Sarah Jane is carrying her usual handbag, she has a couple of extra bits in there that will hopefully stop the Cybermen. The settlement up ahead has a handful of buildings, most of them in ruins. The war must have reached that planet some time ago. Sarah Jane gasps as she looks around the settlement. It looks the same as it did when Ruby showed her.   
'You want us to carry this lot down there?' Sky asks. 'Why couldn't we land the TARDIS there?'  
'One, it would spook the humans out. Two, the Cybermen would try and destroy it when they come. It's much safer back there.'  
'Right.'  
'Any ideas of what we're about to walk into?' Sarah Jane asks.  
'This place, this time, the CyberWars has wiped out the majority of the human race.' The humans fall silent and stare at the Doctor in horror. The Doctor looks back at them. 'Sorry, there was never a good time to tell you. If it's any consolation, it almost wiped out the Cybermen.'  
'Almost isn't good enough!'  
'No, it never is.' The Doctor uses her sonic to scan the camp. 'I'm only getting a handful of human life signals and someone wearing a vortex manipulator. But the vortex manipulator is also acting as a biodamper; I don't know what they are.’ Sarah Jane allows herself a brief smile. If she is right, the Doctor could be in a lot of trouble.  
'How many humans?' Ryan asks.  
'Six.’  
'Six humans left?' Yaz breathes.  
'That’s probably the last human settlement this side of the galaxy. Come on; we better get moving.’ They begin walking down the slope towards the human settlement as Cyberships appear in the sky and fly overhead. ‘The Cybermen are here; the humans need our help now!’

When they begin to reach the settlement, they see a group of three humans. ‘You said it was too good to be true,’ the boy—Sarah Jane realises that he is the boy from her visions, Ethan—says.  
‘Yeah, well, sometimes I just want to be wrong.’  
‘Question—‘The Doctor says. ‘Would you like some help?’ The three humans turn to him, and Sarah Jane realises that the woman who spoke wasn’t human.

Ruby White pulls a gun out and aims it at the Doctor. ‘You don’t need to use that against us.’  
‘Who are you?’ The older man asks. ‘Where did you come from?’  
‘Doctor, Ryan, Graham, Yaz, Sarah Jane, Sky. Don’t worry about where we’re from; concentrate on how we can help.’  
‘Doctor?’ Ruby asks, still aiming her gun at her. Her face turns from confusion to outrage.   
‘Put the gun down.’  
‘You ruined my life!’ Ruby's voice is dripping with venom. Sarah Jane stares at her, stunned. She guessed that Ruby would not like the Doctor, but she wasn't expecting the reaction they're getting.  
‘We’ll have time to talk about that later.’  
‘Ruby, please,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Put the gun down, please.’ Ruby looks over at Sarah Jane for the first time.  
‘Sarah…’ Ruby slowly lowers the gun and puts it away.  
‘Right, set this up as I showed you,’ the Doctor says. Ryan, Graham, and Yaz move away and begin setting the equipment up. Sarah Jane and Sky continue standing where they are.

The Doctor scans the area. ‘Two Cyber shuttles just landed. Who’s in charge?’  
‘I guess I am,’ the man says.  
‘Name?’  
‘Feekat.’  
‘Fought Cybermen before?’  
‘No, we always ran from them.’  
‘Escape craft?’  
‘Damaged in planetfall,’ Ruby says. ‘I’ve been trying to fix it, but we have no spare parts. I’ve botch-built a couple of—’  
‘I didn’t ask for your life story, Qetesh,’ the Doctor growls. Sarah Jane glowers at her. She understands that the Doctor may not want anything to do with her people, but her reaction towards Ruby is too hostile, even for her.  
‘Remember that you were the one that caused everything to happen to us,’ Sarah Jane reminds her. ‘You didn’t train Ruby properly, which is why we are in this situation.’  
‘Get everybody into the buildings and tell them, “Do not run.” Please, do as I say. You can trust us.’ The Doctor ignores Sarah Jane, who folds her arms. Well, if the Doctor is going to ignore her, then she will ignore her former best friend.  
‘I’ll need some help repairing the spaceship,’ Ruby says.  
‘I’ll help,’ Sarah Jane says.  
'You will not help,' the Doctor says, turning to Sarah Jane. 'That woman is dangerous.'  
'I will help you, Ruby,' Sarah Jane says and approaches her. Sarah Jane's breathing becomes a little unsteady as she approaches Ruby. Her hands shake a little, but Sarah Jane tries to ignore the fear.  
‘Me too,’ Sky adds, and the three of them set off.

Ruby leads them through a building with walls covered in black soot, and on the other side, they find the spacecraft. It is shaped like a hexagon and made of metal. One side looks dented, obviously from the planetfall. ‘That’s the Gravraft, right?’ Sarah Jane asks.  
‘Yes,’ Ruby confirms. She opens the door, and it lowers to the ground. ‘Come on, if we need to get out of here, we need to patch up the last few bits.’

When they get inside, Sarah Jane takes the view in. There is a platform in the middle with the controls. Around the walls are six seats. There is a dim white light glowing from the ceiling, casting very little light into the room. ‘The Gravraft is designed to have two piolets,’ Ruby explains. ‘Do you have your sonic?’ Sarah Jane nods. ‘Right, we’ll be able to fix these wires.’ She pulls up a little bit of the floor to reveal a mess of wires. ‘Many of these got dislocated when we fell,’ she explains as she starts to untangle them. Sarah Jane pulls her sonic out. ‘Right, I need you to sonic here,’ Ruby holds a red wire to where it needs to be plugged in, and Sarah Jane sonics it into place. ‘And this one,’ Sarah Jane sonics the next wire into place. Sky is looking around the spacecraft as the two women work together. ‘Oh, and, err… yes, thanks.’ Sarah Jane sonics another wire into place then looks up at Sky.   
‘You okay, Sky?’  
‘This isn’t quite as I expected.’  
‘What do you mean?’ Ruby asks, temporarily looking up from the mess of wires when they think they hear something overhead. Sarah Jane turns back to Ruby, who is looking worried. ‘The humans might be in trouble. That’s the wires fixed, so we can at least take off.’ She places the bit of floor back in place, and they run outside. They keep close to the buildings before darting into the doorway of one of the buildings. A group of Cyber heads flying in the defences' direction. ‘Cyberdrones,’ Ruby says. ‘They’re going to take out the defences.’ The Doctor’s friends move out in time, so they are not hurt when the defences blow up. Just when they think they are safe, Sarah Jane sees one of the humans running away from the buildings. ‘Fuskle!’ Ruby yells. ‘Fuskle, get back!’  
‘No! The Doctor yells. ‘Don’t run! I said, get down!’ Fuskle almost reaches the other group of humans when a Cyberdrone shoots near him. Fuskle runs from the group and towards one of the defences. Another human runs after Fuskle. The Cyberdrones shoot the defence near them, and the humans crash into the ground.  
‘No!’ Ruby yells. She turns back to Sarah Jane and Sky. ‘The drones are only the advance guard. We need to get the Gravraft going. It is our only way off this planet.’  
‘There’s the TARDIS.’  
‘I don’t exactly trust the Doctor, and we might not make it back in time. The Gravraft is closer.’ Sarah Jane is staring in shock at the carnage the Cyberdrones left behind. Smoke blows across the area. Fires of orange and gold are burning where the defences once stood.  
‘They destroyed everything we brought with us.’  
‘We don’t have time to wallow; you need to make a decision! Are you coming, or are you staying?’ The Doctor glances over at the trio.

‘I’m coming,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘I can’t bear to look at the Doctor right now.’ Sarah Jane turns away, and the three of them walk back to the Gravraft as a few other people walk towards them.  
‘That’s Yedlarmi,’ Ruby says, pointing to the man with blue eyes and short blonde hair. He is wearing a worn coat, and he hangs his head. ‘The woman with him is Bescot.’ A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes enters the ship. She is wearing a thin woollen hat and a worn black coat. ‘We better get this thing going.’ Sarah Jane and Sky follow Ruby inside. ‘Sarah, I need you and Sky to be on stand-by if we need your help.’  
‘Right,’ Sarah Jane nods. 'I'm not sure how much help we'll be, though.'  
'It's better that you are here in case we need the help.' Sarah Jane nods as she and Sky head towards one of the walls of the ship as Yedlarmi walks in.  
‘Why are they with us?’ He asks, pointing to them. ‘Fuskle’s dead because their stuff didn’t work.’  
‘They’re here because I say they can be,’ Ruby snaps back. ‘Are you going to stand there or are you going to help?’  
‘I was the one who scavenged it.’  
‘And I was the one who patched it up!’  
‘You are not one of us, Qetesh! Many people are dead because of you. How many more people are you going to kill to prove that you are one of us?’  
‘They were already dying!’

‘Get out of here!’ They hear Yaz scream. Ruby runs back to the doorway to see who is coming. ‘There are Cybermen behind us!’  
‘We haven’t got Feekat and Ethan yet!’ Ruby yells back. 'We can't leave without them!'  
‘Listen to Yaz and get inside!’ Graham yells. ‘Wait, where’s Ryan?’  
‘You lost Ryan?’ Sky asks.  
‘Get inside the Gravraft!’ Ruby yells. The group hear lasers as the Cybermen fire at the ship.  
‘We can’t; our friend’s out there.’  
‘Get inside if you want to live! Sky, if you don’t get inside, I know your mother’s going to kill me.’ Sarah Jane looks up as Sky walks back to her, and Graham and Yaz bundle inside. Ruby closes the door and runs back to the controls. ‘Go! Expedite takeoff, now!’  
‘We can’t take this lot!’ Bescot yells back. ‘Our friends are dead because their stuff failed!’  
‘We can’t do anything about that, so either shut up, or I’ll throw you out!’  
‘You wouldn’t dare,’ Yedlarmi stands up, and he glares at Ruby.  
‘I do dare. Feekat put me in charge in case something happened to him,’ Ruby says. ‘They’re coming with us.’ She turns back to the controls.

‘No, wait, we must find my grandson,’ Graham yells.  
‘You need to let us out!’ Yaz argues.  
‘If we don’t go, the Cybermen will get us all; their weapons are destroying the outer shell.’ Ruby says.  
‘Not without the others,’ Bescot says.  
‘The others would be dead if they’re not here,’ Yedlarmi says.  
‘We only came in here for shelter, our friends are still out there,’ Graham says.  
‘Sit down!’ Ruby yells. Sarah Jane and Sky find some spare seats, and Ruby hits one of the buttons. Ruby joins them, and everyone gasps as the Gravraft lifts off with a bang.


	8. Inside the gravraft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group find that they are in trouble soon after leaving the settlement.

Once the Gravraft is a little more stabilised, some of the humans start standing up to sort out the controls. Sarah Jane stands up, only to find her legs are shaking. She loses her grip and falls. Before her head can hit the ground, Ruby runs over and catches her. ‘You okay?’  
‘I haven’t thought I would be on a spaceship again,’ Sarah Jane admits. ‘It’ll take a while to get used to.’  
‘Right, I’ll sit you down, then I need to get back to work. Sky, will you look after her?’ Ruby gently sits Sarah Jane back down in her seat.  
‘Of course,’ Sky says. Ruby stands up and heads back to the controls. Sky turns to her mother. ‘You okay?’  
‘When I was in the TARDIS, I wasn’t used to bumpy rides.’ They hear a beeping noise and turn their attention back to Ruby.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ Yedlarmi says. ‘You’re pushing it too hard.’  
‘Have you seen how low the life support is? We’ll never make it with anything less than ninety per cent.’  
‘We won’t make it at all if you push it past ninety!’  
'If I don't, then you will all die in the middle of space!'  
‘Make it where?’ Yaz asks.  
‘To Ko Sharmus and the Boundary,’ Bescot says. ‘We tried to get there all this time.’  
‘And for those of us who don’t know what the Boundary is?’ Sky asks.  
‘It’s a gateway into another random part of the universe. If we get through there, the Cybermen won’t be able to follow.’  
‘And why is that?’ Bescot opens her mouth to speak, but alarms start blaring again.

‘Energy parcelling’s cratering,’ Yedlarmi yells. ‘Didn’t I say you were pushing it too hard!?’  
‘It’s fine.’  
‘What did I tell you, Qetesh?’  
‘Whoa, we don’t need an argument now,’ Bescot says, standing in between the two. A spark of electricity bursts near where Sarah Jane is sitting, and she throws herself out of her seat.  
‘The whole system’s melting down because of you!’  
‘If you didn’t make me ditch my spaceship when we met, we wouldn’t be in this situation!’  
‘It’s going to blow,’ Bescot warns. ‘Get down!’ Everyone drops to the floor as the system blows. Alarms continue blaring as the system melts and sends the Gravraft spinning into space.

‘We’re still alive,’ Sky breathes after a few minutes. Sarah Jane sits up and looks around. A red glow is coming from the central system, and the protective glass around it shattered.  
‘Give it time,’ Yedlarmi moans.  
‘I wish you would look on the bright side a bit more.’  
‘He’s right, though,’ Ruby says, putting her hands in her pockets. ‘The life support is low. We’ll all be dead unless we do something.’  
‘You won’t be,’ Yedlarmi says. ‘You’ll still be alive.’  
‘This is one of those times I wish I were human and needed air to breathe.’ Ruby moves over to more of the controls on the walls when the group hear a metallic thud against the ship.  
‘I’m going to see if I can find out what made that noise,’ Sarah Jane says and walks over to the window. She steps up onto a box and wipes the window clean with the sleeve of her jacket and peers out.  
‘Can you see what made it?’ Graham asks.  
‘Dead bits of Cybermen by the looks of it.’  
‘This is one of the last battle zones from the Cyberwar,’ Ruby explains. ‘Can you see anything else?’  
‘There are dormant ships, and—look! One of them has a doorway open!’  
‘Wait, let’s see it!’ Ruby jumps up onto the box beside her. ‘You’re right,’ Ruby looks at Sarah Jane and smiles. ‘There’s hope right there.’  
‘We’ll never reach it, we don’t have the power,’ Yedlarmi argues.  
‘What about life support?’  
‘Yeah,’ Sky says. ‘Turn anything extra off and use the energy boost to direct us into the ship.’  
‘We’ll only have one shot at this.’ Ruby steps down and helps Sarah Jane climb down. ‘We could vent the air pressure, that should spin us enough.’  
‘We’ll lose all the oxygen; all the humans will be dead.’  
‘You’re all dead anyway! At least give it a go.’ Ruby nods and Bescot and Yedlarmi start fiddling with the controls and start turning everything off. ‘Shut everything down.’ Sarah Jane watches as Sky and Yaz help them out. ‘Excuse me, please,’ Ruby says as she moves past Sarah Jane to get to one of the controls. ‘Think you can help me out with the sonic here?’ Sarah Jane takes it out of her handbag and passes it to Ruby. Ruby gives the system a sonic blast before handing the lipstick back to Sarah Jane. ‘Thanks.’ Sarah Jane hurries over to another system to start shutting it down. Ruby reaches for one of the controls. ‘Ready?’  
‘Don’t panic,’ Graham says. ‘Oh, and don’t take any deep breaths, they aren’t going to come.’ Everyone looks at him, confused.  
‘We’ve been stranded in space before,’ Yaz explains. Everyone begins pressing buttons and pulling levers. The Gravraft starts spinning. Sarah Jane stumbles into Ruby, who catches her, and she holds onto one of the supporting metal beams to stop them from crashing into anything else.

The spaceship crashes, and everyone gasps for breath. ‘I think… we made it,’ Sarah Jane says as she stands up, turning to help Ruby stand as well.  
‘I think we did,’ Ruby agrees with a smile on her face. ‘I can’t believe that worked.’ Ruby opens the door, and they step out into the spaceship.

The lights turn on as they exit the Gravraft. The screens begin to turn blue as they start up again. Sky places her hands on one of the screens. ‘The spaceship uses electricity, I can feel it,’ Sky says. ‘But it’s all shut down. I can easily start turning everything on from here.’  
‘I’m not sure whether we’ll want everything on,’ Ruby says. ‘This was a Cyber carrier.’  
‘Then what was it carrying?’ Graham asks, and the group begin walking.  
‘Who knows. It could have carried anything from weapons to more Cybermen going to the front. At least they left the doors open.'  
‘The control deck should be just up here,’ Yedlarmi says. ‘Come on, let’s get moving.’  
‘Wait,’ Sky says. She looks up at the docking bay entrance and closes her eyes. The group hear a crackle of electricity, and a blue, white and yellow white begins to surround Sky. She opens her eyes and raises one of her hands towards the ceiling and the docking bay entrance. They can hear the doors start to close, and Sky lowers her hand. The light vanishes.

‘How did you do that?’ Bescot asks.  
‘I can influence electricity,’ Sky replies. ‘I’ve always had that ability, but it’s been a while since I did anything like that.’ She closes her eyes and falls to the floor. Sarah Jane catches her and gently rests Sky’s head against the floor.  
‘We don’t have time for this,’ Yedlarmi says. ‘We need to move.’  
‘My daughter is unconscious; what do you want me to do?’ Sarah Jane snaps back.  
‘Leave her here?’  
‘No way,’ Ruby growls. ‘We’re not leaving Sky behind.’ Sky begins to come to, and Sarah Jane and Ruby help her up. ‘You okay?’ Sarah Jane notices that Ruby is taking on a gentler tone than she did with Yedlarmi.  
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ Sky says as she steadies herself on her feet. ‘Let’s keep going.’ The others nod, and they begin walking towards the control deck.


	9. Trouble on the Cyber War Carrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bescot, Graham, Ruby, Sarah Jane, Sky, Yedlarmi and Yaz are trapped on the Cyber carrier.

Yedlarmi opens the door to the control deck, and everyone steps inside. A blue light bathes them, and Sky quickly covers her eyes. ‘I wish I could turn that down. I have a bit of a headache.’ Yedlarmi runs over to the controls to assess the ship. Different controls require people to place their hands on the controls as there are two half ovals. Yedlarmi presses one of the large blue buttons and the ship powers up. The blue light fades into a white light, and Sky uncovers her eyes. ‘That’s better.’   
‘The ship still has full power,’ Bescot says. She brushes her hair out of her eyes. ‘We can use it as a settlement ship.’   
‘That could work.’   
‘Watch it, Yedlarmi, you sound positive there,’ Ruby smiles. ‘I’ll take a look around. Anyone want to join me?’   
‘I’ll come with you,’ Sarah Jane offers.   
‘I’ll come too,’ Graham says.   
‘Anyone else?’ Ruby asks. Sky is already examining the systems. Bescot and Yedlarmi are starting to work the controls and figure out how they work.   
‘I’ll keep an eye on things up here,’ Yaz says. ‘If anything happens, I’ll let you know.’   
‘Thanks,’ Ruby turns to Graham and Sarah Jane. ‘Let’s take a look around.’ The three begin to leave as Yedlarmi says it will take a while for the ship to reboot.

They go to level 139 and start there. It is near the same level as the control deck, so it is the best place to start. The door creaks open before the trio step inside. The power turns on. ‘At least the power’s on,’ Graham says, and he turns to the two women. ‘Ruby, is it true that the Doctor refused to help you?’  
‘She never wanted to help me,’ Ruby says. ‘I should have realised that when I crashed into his—her—TARDIS. I asked the Doctor for help, and as they always cared for the universe and stopped as much evil happening to it as possible, I thought they would help. Did you know that she destroyed her own people?’   
‘What?’ Graham asks, and he stops walking. ‘I—I thought that the Master destroyed the Time Lords.’   
‘Well, unless they died a second time,’ Ruby shrugs. The ship shudders and almost throws the three of them to the ground. ‘I think they got us moving.’ They begin walking again. ‘I’m beginning to think that we have a good chance of surviving today.’  
‘Beyond today,’ Graham corrects her. ‘You’ve still got a lot of life ahead of you.’   
‘I sure hope so.’ They come across another door and open it. They walk through to find human-sized containers with blue lights in the middle. The door shuts behind them, and Sarah Jane turns around. She takes her sonic out of her handbag and uncaps it.

‘What are these?’ Graham asks and kicks it. The blue light glows brighter. Sarah Jane places her hand on it, and the container opens.   
‘No,’ Ruby breathes. ‘We—we can’t use this ship.’ Staring back at the trio is a Cyberman. ‘I don’t think it’s active, but—’ The lights turn on, revealing a row of hundreds of containers.   
‘Level 139,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Ten doors on each level. No, you’re right, Ruby. We need to see if there’s an escape pod or something else we can use.’  
‘How many levels are on the ship?’ Graham asks.   
‘Several hundred, I think,’ Ruby says. ‘We should get back to the others and warn them.’ Graham nods, and they turn back to the door. An alarm starts blaring. ‘We have to go! Move, move, move!’ They run back to the door, and Ruby pulls the doors off their hinges. Sarah Jane places her sonic in her pocket and throws her handbag to one side.   
‘What the—?’ Graham asks.   
‘Don’t worry about that, move!’ Ruby pushes Graham through and passes her hand to Sarah Jane as she goes through.

‘Graham, Ruby, Sarah Jane, head to the control deck,’ Yaz says as they run through one of the corridors leading to the control deck. ‘Cybermen just boarded. Graham, Ruby, Sarah Jane, this is Yaz.’ The trio round the corner and continue running. Sarah Jane feels her heart stammering and falls to the floor. ‘Cybermen have boarded and are on your level. Get back here as quick as you can.’ Graham continues running as Sarah Jane tries to pick herself up but falls to the floor.   
‘SARAH!’ Ruby yells, running back for her.   
‘Leave me,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘I’ll only slow you down.’   
‘I’m not leaving you behind while you’re still alive.’ Ruby picks Sarah Jane up and runs back to Graham. Graham starts pressing the blue button that seals the door between them and the control deck.   
‘Yaz calling Graham, Ruby and Sarah Jane. Can you hear me?’  
‘Yes, thank you,’ Graham calls back, and the door between them and the Cybermen seals itself shut.

Ruby puts Sarah Jane back down when they return to the control deck. ‘What happened?’ Yaz asks.   
‘My heart almost gave out,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Ruby went back for me.’  
‘Thank you, Ruby,’ Sky says, and she hugs Sarah Jane.   
‘No wonder they almost wiped us out,’ Yedlarmi says. ‘Have you seen how fast we’re going? We’d be at the Boundary in almost no time. The systems are also the most advanced I’ve seen.’  
‘And bringing a carrier full of Cybermen with us,’ Ruby shoots back. ‘We can’t take them to the Boundary.’  
‘But we can’t unleash them onto another planet,’ Sarah Jane argues. ‘The Cybermen will figure out how to get off the planet and spread terror again.’  
‘And we can’t surrender the ship, or we’ll all die,’ Bescot argues.   
‘We’ll need to make a decision soon,’ Sky points out. ‘We already have three Cybermen on board, and they will force our hand soon. But we will take these Cybermen down.’   
‘There’s only seven of us,’ Ruby argues. ‘How are we going to fight them?’ Yedlarmi looks at Ruby, and the others start looking at her. ‘What are you all looking at me for?’  
‘You’re a Qetesh, you can fight them,’ Yedlarmi says.   
‘Right, first of all, my soul-stealing days are over. Even if they weren’t, there’s no way I can get rid of thousands, maybe even millions of Cybermen in one go. That would be impossible.’ Ruby turns back to the screen. ‘I hope that the three Cybermen that are already onboard aren’t waking the others up.’  
‘I’ll check the ob system,’ Yedlarmi says, and on the screen, he pulls up the footage from level 139. The Cybermen are opening up the containers that have the Cybermen inside. As they watch, the Lone Cyberman wakes the others up. Then, he grabs a gun.   
‘The ascension shall begin,’ the Cyberman says in a robotic voice. He punches the normal Cyberman, and it throws its arms in front. The Lone Cyberman presses the gun into its chest and fires it, keeping its finger on the trigger. A laser seems to shoot out of the gun, and the Cyberman shrieks. Sarah Jane covers her mouth with her hand and turns from the screen.   
‘Turn it off,’ Ruby says and turns to Sarah Jane. Yedlarmi turns the Ob System off.

‘We’re jumping out of the vortex,’ Yedlarmi says. ‘We’re not far away.’  
‘Then we can send them a signal, warn them that we’re coming,’ Sarah Jane says, turning back to the others. Bescot is now helping Yedlarmi steer the ship.   
‘I’ll help with that,’ Ruby says. She opens the comms systems.   
‘Guys, they’re all waking up down there!’ Graham warns. ‘We don’t have much time.’ The screen Graham is looking at changes from the containers that are open to the Lone Cyberman.

‘We know where you are. My armies are coming for you.’ The screen turns black again.   
‘Cybermen are part machine, right?’ Sky asks.   
‘Right,’ Yedlarmi says, sounding a little uncertain.   
‘Then, I can use my powers to stop them!’   
‘Sky, no!’ Sarah Jane screams, pulling Sky away from the door. ‘I will not let you risk your life!’   
‘But it will give you all some time to send a warning to Ko Sharmus and find a way out. I have to stop them!’   
‘Sky, listen to me; I will not let you destroy yourself like this. There is always another way.’  
‘Not this time, there isn’t, and I’d rather die fighting.’

‘Yaz, looking for the Doctor, all frequencies,’ Yaz says into the comms system, hoping that they are close enough for the Doctor to pick up the signal. ‘Yaz looking for the Doctor.’  
‘Yaz, we can hear you, can you hear us?’ The Doctor asks.   
‘Doctor!’   
‘Doctor, we are stuck on a ship full of Cybermen, and we can’t get out,’ Sky says. Graham goes outside to see where the Cybermen are.

‘THEY’RE COMING!’ Graham screams before running back inside and slamming the door shut. ‘THEY’RE RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR!’ Ruby pulls a metal beam out of the floor and uses it to barricade the door. The Cybermen begin banging against it.   
‘They’re about to break in,’ Yaz says. The Cybermen burst the door open and begin firing. Sky closes her eyes and activates her powers. Ruby pulls Sarah Jane away from the Cybermen while Bescot opens a panel in the wall near the two women.   
‘Come on!’ She yells. ‘I’ll hold them off.’   
‘So will I,’ Sky says. ‘Go, go, go!’ Sarah Jane and Ruby are the first to climb through. Ruby pulls her stomach off her shoulder and throws it back into the room.   
‘It will take a while to regrow, but if it holds the Cybermen off for a while, then it’s worth it.’ She and Sarah Jane continue crawling through the ventilation shaft with Yedlarmi, Yaz and Graham behind them. They start climbing down the ladder towards another corridor, which is thankfully free of Cybermen.

‘Right, Yaz, down you come.’ Graham says, helping Yaz down. Sarah Jane looks up, but there’s no sign of Bescot or Sky.   
‘Where’s Bescot and Sky?’ Sarah Jane asks. Sky scrambles down the ladder a few moments later. ‘There you are! You had me worried sick!’ Sarah Jane helps Sky down.   
‘Mum!’ Sky pulls Sarah Jane into a hug.   
‘Don’t ever do anything like that again!’

‘Where’s Bescot?’ Yaz asks.   
‘The Cybermen have her; we need to go back,’ Yedlarmi says.   
‘Do you really think that Bescot would want you going back into a room full of Cybermen and risking your life for her?’ Ruby demands.   
‘I owe it to her! She used to have nightmares about getting captured and converted.’  
‘If you want to go back and get yourself killed, then fine. But you’re on your own.’ Yedlarmi starts climbing up the ladder again. ‘And if you see my stomach up there, don’t kill it!’   
‘Your what now?’ Yaz asks. The group watches and waits for Yedlarmi to return until Ruby screams. She falls to the ground and throws out her hands to stop herself from hitting her head.   
‘I told you not to kill it!’ Ruby yells up the ladder. They hear Yedlarmi scream, then nothing.   
‘What just happened?’ Yaz asks.   
‘Yedlarmi tried to kill me again.’ Ruby stands up, ignoring the pain. ‘He knows the penalty for doing that twice.’   
‘Which is what?’   
‘Do you not know?’ Yaz shakes her head. ‘The penalty for trying to kill a Qetesh stomach twice is death. I told everyone at the settlement that when I first joined. Yedlarmi either forgot, didn’t listen or decided he had enough.’  
‘But we come so far,’ Graham argues as Ruby’s stomach emerges from the ventilation shaft. It falls down the ladder, and Ruby catches it and puts it in her pocket. ‘Why would he give up when we’re so close to getting out?’   
‘I don’t know,’ Ruby says. ‘But we need to keep moving and find somewhere to hide while we think of a plan.’   
‘I think I have one. It’s a bit bonkers, quite dangerous, and it might not work, but we’re good at those ideas. Aren’t we, Yaz?’ Graham turns to Yaz.   
‘Yeah, our speciality.’ Yaz looks over at Graham. ‘How dangerous?’


	10. Getting off the Cyber War Carrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group run into a couple of problems as they try to get off the Cyber carrier.

Graham leads the group of five to the deep storage vault, where the Lone Cyberman hasn’t reached. He opens one of the containers to reveal a Cyberman. If it were awake, it would have reacted. ‘We can use their armour to get around the ship and get out,’ Graham says.  
‘You want us to disguise as Cybermen?’ Yaz asks. ‘Graham, that’s a brilliant plan!’  
‘Do you know what’s inside a Cyberman?’ Ruby asks.  
‘I imagine it’s not pleasant.’  
‘They’re full of dead human remains.’ Ruby turns to Sarah Jane. ‘You still got your sonic?’  
‘Yes. I made sure to keep it on me before I threw my handbag.’  
‘At least that’s something. Can it hack into different networks?’  
‘I think so.’  
‘I’m sorry, but in this instance, ‘I think so’ isn’t good enough. We need a definite answer.’  
‘I can help,’ Sky says. ‘Mum, if you give me the sonic, I should find what I’m looking for.’ Sarah Jane passes the sonic to Sky.  
‘Right, I’ll deal with the bodies. Sky, you disable the suit connection into the shared neural network.’  
‘Right,’ Sky nods.  
‘We need someone to spy on the Cybermen, work out how they get off the ship.’  
‘I’ll do it,’ Sarah Jane offers. Ruby turns to her.  
‘I admire your enthusiasm, but we need someone a bit more reliable to do it.’  
‘Reliable? I’d have you know that—’  
‘I know you are reliable, but what I meant was that we need someone who isn’t likely to die before they come back from the Cybermen.’  
‘Please, Ruby. Let me do this!’  
‘Fine,’ Ruby sighs. ‘But I’ll come with you once I’ve sorted this out.’ Sarah Jane nods.

When Ruby finishes with the bodies, the two of them creep away and find a group of six Cybermen stomp towards them and stop in front of a blue x with a circle in the middle. They raise their fists to the centre of their chests and teleport onto the planet below. ‘Transmat,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘They use transmats to get off the ship.’  
‘Then that’s what we need to do. Come on!’ Ruby pulls Sarah Jane away, and they head back to the group. When they return, Sky is using her powers and the sonic to disable the suits.  
‘Almost done,’ she says. ‘It will take around another minute or so.’  
‘Thanks, Sky,’ Ruby says. ‘I think we found a way of the ship.’  
‘That’s great,’ Sky beams. She doesn’t divert her sight from the suit in front of her. ‘I’ve got one more after this so we’ll be ready to go soon.’ She quickly finishes with that one before moving onto the next one.  
‘Right, shall we get you ready?’ Ruby asks Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane nods, and they begin preparing her to get into the suit.  
‘No!’ Graham breathes. ‘Cybermen incoming!’  
‘What’s going on?’ Sky asks.  
‘I think the Cybermen found out that the ob system down here isn’t working.’  
‘But we don’t have enough suits ready. One of us will get caught!’

Everyone looks at each other. Someone will have to stay behind and take one for the group. ‘I’ll stay,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Mr Smith said I would die in the next few days, and I’d rather die protecting you than waiting for my life to end.’  
‘Mum, don’t say that,’ Sky says. ‘Besides, you’re—’  
‘We don’t have time to argue,’ Yaz yells. ‘For all we know, the Cyberman is already on its way. Sky, how long will it take for you to get that suit done?’  
‘We don’t have the time to get the last suit done! Unless…’ Sky activates her powers and turns the power off in the top of the ship. ‘That should leave the Cybermen distracted for a few minutes, and if not, I’ll turn the power off elsewhere.’ Sky begins to work on the next suit. ‘Don’t wait for me, start getting in the suits and get in the containers!’ Everyone begins to get into the suits and close them up hurriedly.

Sky is the last person to close the door of her container and shuts it just before the Lone Cyberman enters. Sarah Jane hears the doors open and reminds herself to stand still. If the Cyberman finds any of them, it is over. They won’t be able to do anything to help them, or they would give them all away. The Cyberman opens the door to one of the containers and shuts it again. Sarah Jane realises that she must do something to distract the Cyberman. She is holding an odd piece of metal that Ruby thrust into her hands before she got into a suit. Sarah Jane drops it, and it clangs to the floor. The Cyberman throws open the doors to her container. ‘Leader, we are on optimal proximity to the Boundary,’ one of the Cybermen over the comms say. The Lone Cyberman slams the door to Sarah Jane’s container shut and storms off. ‘Boundary gateway is reopening.’ The doors shut behind the Cyberman.

The group climb out of their containers. ‘This is the craziest thing I have ever done,’ Sarah Jane says.  
‘Never mind that, we need to get off this ship,’ Graham says.  
‘The less we talk, the better,’ Ruby says. ‘Follow me, and stay together.’ They begin to walk like the Cybermen and reach a blue x with a circle in the middle.  
‘What now?’ Yaz asks.  
‘I think…’ Ruby is unable to finish her sentence as the transmat beams them down to the planet. They are close to the human settlement that seems to be made of canvas. The camp is close to a beach and has a beautiful view. 'Is that sand? I've never seen sand before.'  
'Yes, that's sand,' Yaz says. ‘Let’s find the others and get out of here.’ They enter the camp and start looking for the humans. ‘Let’s split up.’

Sarah Jane begins walking through the camp, hoping to find someone familiar. ‘Attention, remaining humans,’ one of the Cybermen says. ‘We have your friend. You have ten seconds to surrender, or he will be executed.’ The Cybermen begin counting down from ten.  
‘I found Ethan; the Cybermen have him! Go, go, go!’ Ruby yells. They run through the camp, and when Sarah Jane catches up to them, she almost collapses.  
‘Running in armour is not the best of ideas in this situation,’ she pants. She leans against a box for support.  
‘What the—’ one of the Cybermen says that is holding Ethan captive. The other two turn to Sarah Jane and raise their guns. Sarah Jane closes her eyes and waits for the blasts to hit her.

They never come.

Sarah Jane opens her eyes and sees the three Cybermen lying dead on the floor. Yaz, Graham, Sky and Ruby are standing behind them. Sarah Jane slowly stands up as Ryan, and an older man run through. ‘I don’t understand,’ Ryan says. The middle Cyberman takes their helmet off, and Yaz smiles at Ryan.  
‘You understand now?’  
‘Thank God you’re safe,’ he says and pulls Yaz into a hug. Sarah Jane, Ruby and Sky take their helmets off.  
‘I thought I wasn’t going to make it,’ Sarah Jane says.  
‘You’re safe now,’ Ruby assures her.  
‘Hey, guys, I can’t get my helmet off,’ Graham says. Ruby grabs it and pulls it off.  
‘You need to use a bit of strength, that’s all. Let’s get out of these suits.’ They get the suits off and start walking towards the Boundary.  
‘What’s your name?’ Sky asks as they walk.  
‘I’m Ko Sharmus.’  
‘Ko Sharmus is a person, not a planet?’ Ruby asks, confused.  
‘That’s right,’ Ko agrees. ‘I’ve lived here for a long time, and I guess people forgot that I was a person altogether.’

The group gather around the Boundary. A purple and white light surround a circle of orange, and there is clearly another planet at the heart of it. It is the ruins of a city; the glass surrounding part of it has shattered, and smoke rises from the destroyed buildings.

‘The Doctor’s on the other side of the Boundary,’ Ryan said.  
‘So, how do we do this?’ Ruby asks.  
‘The Boundary will absorb us,’ Ko says. ‘But you have to take the step.’  
‘Step into the unknown, who fancies going first?’ Graham asks. Everyone begins looking at each other, trying to figure out whether they should go or let someone else go first.

Sarah Jane takes Ruby’s hand. Ruby stares down at their intertwined hands, and Sarah Jane notices. She lets go. ‘I… er… I’m sorry.’  
‘There’s nothing to apologise for,’ Ruby assures Sarah Jane. ‘If you want to hold my hand, I’ll let you do that.’ Sarah Jane smiles and holds Ruby’s hand again.  
‘Shall we go through?’ Ruby nods, and Sarah Jane leads them through the Boundary.


	11. Gallifrey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrive on Gallifrey and start looking for the Doctor.

Sarah Jane can smell the burning ruins when they jump onto Gallifrey. White ashes float in the air, and some of the ground is still burning. ‘That building there, the one with the broken glass,’ Ruby says, pointing to it with her free hand. ‘That was the Citadel. What happened here?’ As she looks around, Yaz, Ryan, Graham, Ethan and Ko Sharmus jump through the Boundary and onto Gallifrey.   
‘The Doctor could be anywhere,’ Yaz moans. ‘How are we meant to find her?’  
‘The Citadel looks like the best place to start,’ Ruby says. ‘It was once the capital of Gallifrey and held many critical parts of the Time Lords' history like the Matrix. The Doctor’s likely to be there.’ Sarah Jane notices that Ruby’s eyes are darting everywhere, taking the ruined planet in. Tears slip down her cheeks. ‘Sorry, I never expected to see it like this. I spent my summers here when I was a little girl. The Doctor and I were close before she ran off, and my hunger spiralled out of control.’ Ruby releases Sarah Jane’s hand and wipes her tears away. ‘Sorry.’   
‘There’s nothing for you to apologise for, Ruby,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Something like this would shock you, and it would be natural for you to feel upset.’

Yaz turns to Ethan and Ko. ‘Things will get more dangerous from here on out; you don’t have to come.’   
‘I do,’ Ethan says. ‘She saved me; now it’s my turn to help save her.’  
‘Besides, we owe you,’ Ruby says. ‘You helped save us; now we will help save your friend. I may not like her, but I will help you save her.’  
‘And there must be a few more things I can blow up before I’m done,’ Ko says. ‘I’m also in.’   
‘Right,’ Yaz says. ‘Let’s find the Doctor. We better stick together, though. This place is huge, and we don’t want to get lost.’

As they enter the Citadel, Ruby gasps in shock. Soot covers the walls, leaving them black. Some of the walls are knocked down, leaving nothing to support the ceiling. Windows are knocked in, and in some places, complete rooms or part of a staircase is missing. When the latter happened, they had to retrace their steps and start again. ‘This place is like a maze,’ Ryan says. ‘It doesn’t help that parts of the buildings are missing.’   
‘We’re coming up to the Matrix,’ Ruby calls out. ‘If the Doctor isn’t here, we will have to search the surrounding area of the Citadel.’ The door they are coming up to is a circular shape, and it looks like it was blown open. Ruby peeks inside. ‘DOCTOR!’ Ruby runs inside, the others hot on her heels.

The room is a mess. There is a strangely-shaped platform in the centre of the room, with pieces of rubble scattered across it. Lying on top the of the platform is the Doctor. ‘Doctor, can you hear me?’ Yaz asks.   
‘Is she alright?’ Ethan asks. Ruby closes her eyes.   
‘She’s alive but needs time to rest. There’s something else… oh, no.’ Ruby opens her eyes.   
‘What is it?’   
‘One of her childhood friends created a new breed of Cybermen. These are worse than the Cybermen we already faced. The Doctor saw one of them regenerate.’   
‘How do you know about that?’ Yaz asks.   
‘Qetesh are slightly telepathic. That is how I found out about the Doctor,’ Ruby turns to Sarah Jane. ‘How I got those visions to you. I don’t know entirely how it works, but I’m getting better at it.’   
‘Right, we need a plan,’ Ryan says.   
‘I have bombs,’ Ko says. ‘But what about the Lone Cyberman? He’d be here too, right?’   
‘I’ll see if I can find him,’ Ruby says. ‘Sarah, Sky, stay with me. The rest of you can start sorting out those bombs.’ Ko hands everyone a communicator before Ryan nods, and the others move towards the Cyber ship. Ruby closes her eyes and focuses on trying to find the Cyberman.

‘How do Qetesh read others minds?’ Sky whispers to Sarah Jane. ‘And how did she know that she could get the visions to you?’   
‘I don’t know; Ruby didn’t explain it.’   
‘I see.’ Ruby opens her eyes.   
‘We need to move fast. The Cyberman is on the ship, and the Doctor’s friend shrunk him. If we leave him on the ship, the Death Particle will activate.’ Ruby starts running out of the room, Sarah Jane and Sky racing after her.  
‘What’s the death particle?’ Sky asks as they run into the ship.   
‘It’s a tiny particle in the chest of the Lone Cyberman. If he’s destroyed, the Death Particle will activate and destroy all life on a planet.’ They run into the deep storage room and start looking for him.   
‘He shouldn’t be that hard to find,’ Sarah Jane says when Ruby gestures for her and Sky to stop walking. Ruby bends down and picks up a tiny figure of the Lone Cyberman.   
‘How did this happen? The Death Particle’s still inactive, which is good. At least we know that.’

‘Guys, I don’t mean to alarm you,’ Ko says over the communicators. ‘But the main device has set everything else off. Get out now!’   
‘Meet in the corridor below the carrier,’ Ruby yells. ‘Go, go, go!’ They meet up just as the carrier explodes. Sarah Jane sonics a door open, and they all tumble inside.

‘Wow,’ Ethan breathes. They are standing inside another TARDIS. Sarah Jane gasps when she notices the walls.   
‘There are round things on the walls. This is how the Doctor’s first TARDIS looked.’ She turns to the central control unit. ‘And the controls are the same.’   
‘How many bombs do we have left?’ Ruby asks.   
‘One,’ Ko says.   
‘Hand detonation or timer?’   
‘Hand detonation only. I keep it back for emergencies.’   
‘We’re going to need that.’ Ruby takes the bomb and straps the Lone Cyberman to it. ‘We need to bring the Doctor here and work out who will stay behind.’   
‘What do you mean?’ Sky asks.   
‘Someone needs to sacrifice themselves.’ Ruby looks at the group. ‘I’ve done many things in the past that I’m not proud of. It should be me.’   
‘My time is almost up,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Mr Smith gave me days to live, and I wouldn’t have changed anything for the world.’

‘Oh, is this where you all got to? Thanks for leaving me behind,’ the Doctor says as she walks in. ‘I see you all sorted yourselves out, well done.’ She notices the bomb in Ruby’s hand. ‘I’ll take that.’ She takes the bomb from Ruby and pockets it.   
‘You’re awake,’ Yaz says.   
‘Awake and ready to fight.’ The Doctor starts messing with the controls. ‘I programmed the TARDIS to take you all to Earth.’ She looks at Ethan, Ko and Ruby. ‘You three can settle on Earth.’   
‘You can’t be serious,’ Ruby says.   
‘Deadly serious—and neither of you are going to die. I’m going to use the Death Particle on Gallifrey.’   
‘If you detonate that thing, you’ll die too,’ Sky says.   
‘That’s the way it has to be. Live the best lives you can.’

‘Doctor, no!’ Sarah Jane grabs the Doctor’s sleeve.   
‘Get off me, Sarah Jane!’ The Doctor pulls Sarah Jane off her. ‘I need to do this. I know you might never forgive me because I didn’t help Ruby, but I can’t change that now. Go to Earth, live your lives.’ Sky walks towards Sarah Jane and places a hand on her shoulder.   
‘We’ll look after her.’   
‘I know you will.’ The Doctor turns around and leaves the TARDIS.

Ko begins walking after her. ‘What are you doing?’ Ethan demands.   
‘I need to make sure those things are stopped, and the Doctor might not do that.’   
‘You’ve still got years ahead of you, don’t throw it away!’ Ruby yells.   
‘I’ve already lived a lot longer than I expected, and I’d rather die destroying the new breed of Cybermen rather than waiting for some unknown illness to take me. Let me do this, please!’   
‘If Ko wants to do this, we should let him go,’ Ryan sighs.   
‘Thank you, Ryan.’ Ko turns and heads out the door. It slams behind him, and the glass time rota in the middle begins moving up and down.   
‘We’re moving,’ Sky says. ‘We’re going back home.’

A few moments later, the TARDIS lands. ‘Who wants to go out there first?’ Yaz asks. Everyone stands still, trying to take everything in.   
‘The Doctor can’t be dead, can she?’ Sky asks. ‘She can regenerate, she will survive this.’   
‘I’m not so sure, Sky,’ Sarah Jane whispers.   
‘But there might still be a chance!’   
‘Sky, don’t make this harder on the rest of us,’ Ryan says. ‘We have to accept that the Doctor isn’t likely going to come back.’

Sarah Jane turns to the door. When they open it this time, the Doctor will not be waiting for them. What will meet them on the other side?


	12. Arrival on Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The humans arrive on Earth in the new TARDIS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last part of the series 12 episodes. Other than the Revolution of the Daleks, everything from here will be my own ideas.

Sky is the first person to step out of the TARDIS. They can hear birds singing, and as Sarah Jane stands in the doorway, she sees a car drive past. ‘This is Earth alright,’ Sarah Jane says and steps out beside her daughter. The wind gently ruffles her hair, and Sarah Jane closes her eyes. It feels lovely to have Earth’s sun shining on her face.   
‘I don’t believe it,’ Ruby whispers. Sarah Jane opens her eyes to find Ruby beside her. ‘What year is it?’ Sarah Jane opens the watch on her wrist and begins scanning.   
‘2020, only a few hours since we left London,’ Sarah Jane says.   
‘A few hours?’ Sky repeats. ‘But how long has it been for us?’   
‘About a day, I think,’ Ryan says. ‘Time works differently for us.’  
‘Oh, we’re in Sheffield,’ Sarah Jane smiles. ‘I’ve heard it’s a nice place.’   
‘The Doctor got us home,’ Yaz says. ‘But what about her?’

Sarah Jane decides to take in her surroundings better. Luke lives in Sheffield; maybe she can visit him. It will be nice to see him; it has been several months, and he was due to return from Geneva. The house across from them looks familiar. A car pulls up in front of it, and a young man steps out of it carrying a couple of suitcases. ‘Thanks, Kate,’ he says. Sarah Jane almost stops breathing.

The man in front of her is her son. Luke looks up when the car pulls away. ‘MUM?!’   
‘Luke!’ Sarah Jane calls back. Luke runs over the road and pulls Sarah Jane into a hug. His blue eyes are sparkling with tears of joy. When he spots Sky, he allows her to join the hug.   
‘What are you doing here? Not that I’m happy to see you, of course, but what happened?’ Sarah Jane smiles at Luke as she tries to figure out her story.   
‘It’s a very long story.’ Sarah Jane says, then realises that Luke is looking confused.

‘Mum, what’s going on?’ Sarah Jane looks beside her and remembers that Ruby was standing beside her.   
‘Right, Luke, I don’t want you to panic or to jump to conclusions, but—’   
‘What happened?’   
‘As I said, it’s a long story, and probably one to discuss inside.’   
‘I just got back from a mission with UNIT, and I find this?’ Luke sighs in defeat. ‘Let me unpack and say hi to Sanjay first. He will ask questions if I don’t turn up soon.’   
‘Of course,’ Sarah Jane nods.   
‘But we need to talk about this.’ Luke picks up his suitcases and crosses the road, back to his house. Sarah Jane turns and walks back into the TARDIS, Ruby and Sky following her.

‘What am I going to tell him?’ Sarah Jane asks as she begins pacing.   
‘How about the truth?’ Sky suggests. ‘That’s always the best place to start.’  
‘But how much of that will he believe? And he met Ruby before; he would assume that you’re trying to kill me again. How can we convince him you won’t.’   
‘He’ll need to come to that decision on his own.’   
‘But I’ll be dead by then!’ Sarah Jane places a hand on her heart and tries to get her breathing under control.   
‘Not necessarily…’ Ruby says, but her voice sounds uncertain and almost afraid. ‘There are options, but they are full of risks.’ The TARDIS fills with silence for a few moments as Sarah Jane processes what Ruby has said.   
‘What? What are my options?’ Sarah Jane asks.   
‘Qetesh are not only soul stealer but soul givers. We can give eternal life to those that we care about.’   
‘I don’t want eternal life, not without my family.’   
‘I never said that I wouldn’t give eternal life to your family, but only if that is what you all want. The last thing I need is to keep one of you alive for the rest of time and hating me for that because I didn’t save the rest of their family.’  
‘And what about our friends, Clyde and Rani, they’ll still be mortal.’   
‘If they want to be immortal with you, then I can sort that, but as I said, the decision will lie with them.’   
‘But how does this work?’ Sky asks. ‘You said that it was full of risks.’   
‘I was going to move on to that,’ Ruby says. ‘It’s critical that you know the risks before we try anything. It does mean that someone must die in your place, but their soul can be split between two people if one of them is healthy. That’s where the risk comes. I’ve never split a soul before, and don’t know how to do it. If I try it, both you and whoever else I try and give immortality to can die. I can transfer the life essence of one person to another, but there are still problems with that.’   
‘There’s no point in discussing it because it will not happen. Not when someone else has to die in my place.’   
‘There are other options. If there is one you don’t like, we can discuss the others. But it could be worthwhile talking to Luke about this as well. He’ll need to be in the loop as well. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing something without Luke knowing about it.’

‘Without me knowing about what?’ Luke walks in. ‘Wow, this place is incredible. Is it another TARDIS?’ Sarah Jane, Ruby and Sky give him a look. ‘Sorry, one of the others let me in.’   
‘That’s all right,’ Sarah Jane nods. Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes as usual. ‘Maybe we should talk elsewhere. The TARDIS should have somewhere a bit more comfortable than the control room.’ Sarah Jane leads them out of the control room and into a corridor. Sky opens the door next to the console room.

The door leads into a living space, full of armchairs, a soft red sofa, and a bookshelf. The walls are painted a pale blue colour. ‘This looks like a good place to talk,’ Sky says. Sarah Jane nods, and everyone walks in.   
‘Shall I get us some tea?’ Sarah Jane asks.   
‘I’ll do it. You shouldn’t be pushing yourself due to your condition.’   
‘What are you talking about?’ Luke looks confused. ‘Mum?’   
Sarah Jane sits down as she tries to figure out what to say. ‘Luke, there is something I need to tell you,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Today, well, yesterday for me, Mr Smith scanned me. My heart is giving out, and he gave me a few days to live.’   
‘What?’ Sarah Jane can see that her son is about to cry. ‘This can’t be happening.’   
‘I know you don’t want this to happen, but—’  
‘There must be something someone can do!’

‘That was what we were discussing,’ Sky says. ‘Ruby can do something, but she said that she didn’t want to do anything without keeping you in the loop.’  
‘I’m not sure if I can trust her, that’s the problem. Er, no offence, Ruby.’   
‘None taken,’ Ruby replies, and she sits down. ‘But I thought you would want to know about the options that Sarah Jane has. If you don’t want me to get involved, then I understand.’  
‘Thank you,’ Luke nods. ‘Can you give us a few minutes alone?’   
Ruby nods and stands up. ‘I’ll be in the console room if you need me.’ She walks out of the room and shuts the door behind her.

‘So, what happened?’   
‘The Doctor came back for me,’ Sarah Jane sits back, a smile on her face. ‘Sky came with us.’   
‘It was awesome!’ Sky says. ‘We met Mary Shelley on the night she was meant to create Frankenstein! But it was a bit of a disappointment, no writing happened. We ended up facing off against a Cyberman.’  
‘A Cyberman?’   
‘Twice, same Cyberman.’ Sky begins telling Luke the whole story. Sarah Jane interjects with pieces of information that Sky missed but mostly stayed out of it. She looks back at the door every now and again but tries not to. She glances back at Luke and Sky, and they both seem to be enjoying themselves.

‘Ruby was showing you bits of what was going on?’ Luke asks, turning to Sarah Jane. ‘Why only bits and not everything?’   
‘I honestly don’t know. But what Ruby showed me, they were all interactions with two of the people she helped save. Only one of them is alive now.’ Sarah Jane looks back at the door and sighs. ‘When we found the Doctor, Ruby said that Qetesh are telepathic. She showed me the bits that happened because she wants my forgiveness.’  
‘If she was doing that, she could be genuine, but I would keep an eye on her if I were you. What were you discussing before I arrived?’   
‘Ruby was explaining one of the options that meant I wouldn’t die. However, for that one, someone else would die in my place. I could never wish that on anyone.’ Luke sits back and begins processing everything that he learnt.

‘If there are other options, then we need to ask Ruby about them. While I might not like her for trying to kill you, if you trust her, then I have to accept it.’   
‘Too right, you do,’ Sarah Jane smiles. ‘Shall I go and get her?’   
‘If you like.’ Sarah Jane stands up and walks out of the room.

She heads back to the control room; only she can’t find Ruby there. ‘Ruby?’ Sarah Jane asks, hoping that Ruby is only hiding from her. There is no reply. Sarah Jane knows that leaving is never a good option; Ruby promised to wait there, and besides, TARDISes are enormous. One can quickly lose themselves within them.   
‘Sorry about that,’ Ruby says. Sarah Jane turns to see Ruby stumbling into the room. ‘I know I said I would wait here, but I got bored. I explored a little, but I got lost.’   
‘That’s all right,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Luke wants to talk.’   
‘Right. Did Luke say what he wants to talk about?’   
‘He wants to talk about the other options I have if you decide to make me immortal.’ Ruby nods.   
‘I’ll be happy to discuss other options with him; he must know what he’s going on as it directly affects him as you’re his mother.’   
Sarah Jane nods. ‘You ready?’   
‘Yeah.’ Ruby sighs. She takes Sarah Jane’s hand, and Sarah Jane glances down at it.   
‘Luke might take this the wrong way. Friends don’t normally hold hands.’   
‘Oh.’ Ruby lets go of her.   
‘Hey, if you want to hold my hand, I’m not stopping you. I’m just saying that Luke will ask questions.’   
‘Right, okay,’ Ruby takes Sarah Jane’s hand again. ‘But how can we explain this? We’re not even friends. You barely know anything about me.’   
‘The way you helped those humans? It tells me that you are a changed person. You are looking for forgiveness, and you are going the right way about it.’   
‘Does that mean… or…? Am I wrong to get my hopes up here?’   
‘I forgive you.’

Sarah Jane feels that a weight has lifted from her shoulders. While they were travelling with the threat of Cybermen hanging over them, Sarah Jane wanted to forgive Ruby. Now that they are safe, Sarah Jane feels that now is the right time to forgive her. Not only has Ruby saved her and Ethan, but Graham, Yaz and Sky. No one asked her to do that; she just did it.   
‘Just so you know, I would save you all again in a heartbeat, if it ever came to that.’   
‘Are you reading my mind?’ Sarah Jane feels a flicker of a smile on her face.   
‘Maybe.’

‘You know so much about me, and I know barely anything about you.’   
‘I’m pretty good with technology.’   
‘Yes, you patched up the Gravraft and added those updates to Mr White. Oh, speaking of…’ Sarah Jane groans. ‘He was in my handbag, and I left that on the Cyber carrier.’   
‘Don’t worry about that. I don’t want him anymore.’   
‘You’re just saying that because we can’t go back for him.’   
‘No, I mean it. Mr White would remind me too much of my past, and I don’t want to go back to that.’  
‘So, you don’t mind that he’s gone?’   
‘Not at all,’ Ruby smiles. ‘If anything, it’s a relief because the temptation’s gone. Thank you.’ Ruby takes Sarah Jane’s other hand. ‘Is this too much, or?’   
‘This is fine.’ To her surprise, Sarah Jane feels okay with it. ‘If you like, we can pick things up where we left off, maybe go to a café, spend some time together. Just the two of us.’   
‘Well—’  
‘I overstepped, haven’t I?’   
‘No, no, no, not at all. I—I’d like that. So, it would be, what, like a date?’   
‘If that’s what you want it to be, yes.’ Sarah Jane is about to say something else, but Ruby smiles at her. She can feel her thoughts getting away from her. ‘I…er…’   
‘You’re getting flustered.’ Ruby lets go of one of Sarah Jane’s hands and strokes her cheek.   
‘I’m not,’ Sarah Jane shoots back. ‘I don’t get flustered.’   
‘You are, I can see it.’ Sarah Jane can tell that Ruby is teasing her. Ruby lifts Sarah Jane’s hand to her lips and kisses it. ‘If we are going to do this, then I want to make sure I get it right.’   
‘Well, you are,’ Sarah Jane smiles. ‘You’re doing a great job.’   
‘Thank you.’

Sarah Jane leans forward a little and kisses Ruby. When they pull apart, both women have a small smile on their faces. ‘We should get back to Luke and Sky,’ Sarah Jane says.   
‘Yeah,’ Ruby breathes. ‘Probably.’ They continue holding hands as they walk back.   
‘I don’t think we should be holding hands when we go in,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘Luke’s only just getting used to the fact that you changed. I think revealing our relationship to him now could be a bit risky.’ Ruby nods, and they let go.


	13. The Other Options

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and Ruby begin looking at the options Sarah Jane has of becoming immortal.

When they re-enter the room, they realise that Luke and Sky aren’t alone. Ethan is also sitting with them, making small talk. ‘Ah, I see you found her,’ Luke says when he sees Sarah Jane and Ruby standing in the doorway.   
‘Yes, eventually,’ Sarah Jane says. ‘I see you met Ethan.’   
‘Yes, he’s quite interesting to talk to, especially when I found out that you, Ruby, saved him from the Cybermen.’   
‘Yes, I was helping him, and his parents try and escape from them. They weren’t so lucky, but I made sure that the Cybermen couldn’t convert them. It was the only thing I could do.’   
‘And then you killed Yedlarmi.’  
‘He tried to kill me—twice! I told him what he could and couldn’t do around me from the start. Most of that was because of my species, yes, but I told everyone that if they respected me, I would respect them and help them out as much as possible.’  
‘But you and Ethan are the last two left.’   
‘The Cybermen killed Bescot; I had to get rid of the body so the Cybermen couldn’t convert her. It was the only thing I could do for her. Look, if you are going to accuse me of being a killer, then I’d rather you outright state.’  
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I was trying to work out what happened.’   
‘I see.’

Sarah Jane sits down, and Ruby sits beside her. ‘Luke wanted to talk to you about the other options,’ Sarah Jane reminds Ruby.   
‘Yeah. Mum already told us about one of the options to make her immortal, and we thought it could be worthwhile to discuss it together.’ Ruby nods. ‘What other options does Mum have?’ Ruby sits back on the sofa and begins thinking.   
‘If she doesn’t want someone to die in her place, there are limited options. I never tried any of them, so I don’t know if they will work or not.’   
‘So I’m going to be the guinea pig,’ Sarah Jane states, matter-of-factly.   
‘Far from it!’ Ruby sits up. She takes Sarah Jane’s hands, and Sarah Jane looks at Ruby. ‘I would never try anything if the consequences are something you can’t cope with. I’ll probably try them elsewhere before telling you about the other options. The one I suggested is the only one I know that works for humans. I’d rather not suggest the others until I know what the results are.’  
‘I won’t let you risk the life of another human!’ Sarah Jane stands up and faces Ruby. ‘Either you try one of them out on me, or I won’t let you try them on anyone.’   
‘Why did you have to be so stubborn?’ Ruby asks, placing her head in her hands. She sighs and looks up at Sarah Jane again. ‘I’ll have to do some research first, but I should be able to find something that will work.’   
‘That will work, but don’t take too long. Mr Smith gave me only a few days, and I might not even have that now.’   
‘I will do the best I can,’ Ruby assures her. ‘You try and rest, okay? I’ll start looking. Library; sounds like a good place to start.’   
‘Good luck.’ Ruby walks out, and Sarah Jane sits down again.

‘What was that about?’ Luke asks.   
‘She’s a friend, that’s all,’ Sarah Jane argues.   
‘If you say so.’ Luke turns back to Sky and Ethan, both of who were silent throughout the whole interaction.   
‘That looked more like a romantic relationship rather than friendship,’ Ethan says.   
‘What? No, it wasn’t!’ Sarah Jane says.   
‘When Mum tries to deny something like she is now, she often means that it is what we think it is,’ Luke says, then glances back at Sarah Jane. ‘But coming to think of it, it did look slightly romantic.’   
‘No, it didn’t!’   
‘Keep telling yourself that, Mum. It’s three against one.’  
‘If you wanted to know if we were in a romantic relationship or not, you should have asked!’ Ruby says, reappearing in the doorway. Everyone turns to look at her. ‘I can’t find the library. It’s not funny, Sarah Jane!’ Sarah Jane is shaking from laughter, and Ruby rolls her eyes.   
‘I can try using my powers to find the library,’ Sky says.   
‘No, I can find it myself.’ Ruby backs out of the room.

‘She’ll be back soon, won’t she?’ Ethan asks.   
‘Most probably,’ Luke agrees.   
‘I’m going after her,’ Sarah Jane stands up. ‘People can easily lose themselves in a TARDIS.’ She walks out of the door and stops. ‘What direction did Ruby go—oh, you didn’t go anywhere, did you?’ Ruby is hiding a little further down the hallway, trying to stop herself from laughing.   
‘I was wondering if you would follow me.’   
‘Right, let’s find the library.’ Sarah Jane starts smiling as Ruby takes her hand and they walk down the corridor.

The next corridor they walk into has white walls with a soft blue light coming out of the ceiling lights. The doors are wood with different symbols on them. One of them shows a pile of books, and Sarah Jane pushes the door open. Instead of seeing a standard library, they see shelves of books against the walls and a swimming pool in the room’s centre. ‘What on Earth?’   
‘Well, we’re in the library all right.’   
‘Libraries usually don’t have swimming pools in the middle!’   
‘Maybe this TARDIS does. It is alive so that it would have a conscience of its own, and maybe it wants the swimming pool in the library to wind us up.’  
‘That is the silliest excuse I ever heard!’ Sarah Jane starts laughing. ‘Why would a TARDIS want a swimming pool in the library? Someone could fall in while they are reading. It would damage the books.’   
‘As long as we pay attention to where we’re going, it shouldn’t be too bad.’ Ruby slips past Sarah Jane and walks into the room. ‘It would be useful if they had labels on the shelves to tell you where everything is.’   
‘Most libraries have that, so why doesn’t this one?’   
‘I think the TARDIS is trying to mess with us.’  
‘I highly doubt it.’ Sarah Jane turns to the nearest shelf and begins scanning the titles of the books. Some of them the TARDIS translates, others it does not.   
‘I think I found it,’ Ruby pulls a large book out of one of the shelves and places it on a table. Sarah Jane walks over, making sure not to walk into the pool accidentally.   
‘What does it say?’ Sarah Jane watches Ruby as she opens the book and scans the pages.   
‘This is great,’ Ruby looks up at Sarah Jane and smiles. ‘It’s split into sections of ones that work for different species, and humans are there. We’ll be able to find something in here.’   
‘That’s brilliant.’ Sarah Jane looks down at the book. ‘Wait, it’s not translating. The TARDIS usually translates books.’   
‘That’s because it’s Ancient Qeteshese, an old language that can take some time to translate if you’re reading it for the first time. Give it some time, and the TARDIS should translate it.’ Sarah Jane nods and looks down at the book. ‘Right, let’s see what we’ve got in here.’ Ruby opens it to a new section and begins looking down the human category’s list of contents. ‘Ah, we don’t have a lot of options.’  
‘Then we better sort through the options that we do have.’   
‘If you want to spend time with Luke and Sky, I don’t blame you,’ Ruby looks over at Sarah Jane. ‘There is a chance that these can go wrong. If that happens, you won’t make it. I’ll do all I can for you, but I can’t guarantee anything.’   
‘Okay. I’ll go and tell Luke and Sky. They’ll prefer to hear it from me.’   
‘I’ll come through if I find anything.’

As Sarah Jane walks through the TARDIS back to Luke, Sky, and Ethan, she begins thinking about what Ruby said. Ruby would join them if she finds anything, but what if she doesn’t? Would she continue searching? Should Sarah Jane help her? But she doesn’t know what to look for. Besides, Luke and Sky would need to hear the news from her. She would be more help there. Sarah Jane reaches the door, takes a deep breath, and steps inside.


End file.
